Dropping In
by rea.flores7102
Summary: Julliana Hong, a simple scientist, suddenly finds herself in a world she wasn't familiar with... well, on the bright side, she wasn't dead like she thought.
1. chapter 1

"It was but a lovely day that day had been. I thought life gave me all the luck in the world but it never did. I was disillusioned and found life throwing me upside down and changed the world that I knew.

"My life of science and technology was changed into science and the impossible... well, the used-to-be impossible but you get the point. Life threw me into a world I had no idea existed— a world I didn't think was possible.

"As much of a scientist I am, and the idea of another world should have been in my head; that moment made me question all the things I should have asked in my old world. I should have been more curious— I shouldn't have been satisfied with what I knew because there was always more.

"Can you believe that? Dropping into another world for no reason... my luck must have ran out. I didn't have any idea at first— about the world-traveling thing— and I was just aware that I was on some island. Plants I didn't know surrounded me and I thought that it hadn't been just discovered yet.

"And yet, I just had a bad feeling about that plant. The atmosphere was different and I've been to a lot of places due to my job. And guess what? The island that I mentioned? It was fucking isolated in the middle of the ocean so I had nowhere to go... unfortunately.

"In that moment, I knew I was fucked.

"With whatever nonexistent survival skills I had, I was lucky enough to be alive until today. Well, if you disregaed the fact that a pride of lions chased me when I managed a successful hunt on some poor deer— and yes, I know what you're thinking, how the fuck is there a pride of lions in such an isolated island with mostly plants as its residence?

"I have no idea either. To be honest, I have no idea much about living things so I shouldn't be saying that but back to the point. After being chased after, I fell off a preety steep hill and almost fell into the ocean. I was no great swimmer; in fact, I was horrible at it.

"If it weren't for the branch sticking out of the dirt, I might jave drowned to death or jad been eaten by sharks or shocked by jellyfish or— you get the gist. Anyways, things weren't looking too bad and for that, I'm pretty grateful.

"Then again, I did mention that I ran out of luck a long time ago, right? Some kind of... animal came out of the woods behind me where I set up my camp. Its head resembled a lion's, its front claws mirrored the ones of an eagle, its tail was long, thick and scaly, and what's more was the wings of a bat protruding its back.

"The most disgusting feature of all was the top half of a human on its back, as if riding the strange creature. At once, I thanked the skills I earned on this fucking island and managed to decapitate the lion's head when it got caught in the traps I set up.

"But you already know that, don't you?"

The young scientist asked the human who, for some reason, had been merged on the creature's back. To the scientist's surprise, the human man was still alive despite the strange creature being dead. The man's half-hearted chuckle caught her attention.

"Miss? Can you do me a favour?"

"Hm?"

"I... I have a daughter and wife... in Central. Can you tell them that I love them? We got into a fight before I kind of disappeared." A rather rueful smile graced his lips, making the scientist glance at him with a curious gaze. "I know I can't go any further. Despite still being alive, I can't go back to normal."

"I'll look for a way," she suddenly blurted out. "Maybe I can still—"

"No, you don't have to do that, miss. I accepted my fate a long time ago... and I lost the right to live when I took advantage of human lives."

The scientist drank in the silence that followed. She pondered on the fact that this man before her had lost his ethics in the field she loves so much. To play with human lives... that was unacceptable. "But maybe you can do something for me, miss." At this, she straightened and gave him her full attention.

"Please save my country in my stead, miss..." As he trailed off, she realized that he was waiting for her to say her name. "Julliana Hong."

"Weird name." He muttered. "Miss Julliana Hong, please save my country from them."

Julliana Hong— otherwise known as Ana— was about to inquire what he meant by them when his entire body convulsed. It shocked her and more so when he simply didn't stop convulsing. In that second, she knew what she had to do. Ana picked up the makeshift knife she made and instantly plunged it deep inside the man's chest.

Without a word, he died in a blink of an eye.

The scientist felt nothing but shame and guilt. Something could have been done to save him if she had more time— if she knew more of what happened to him. But there wasn't and she lived on thinking of the things that she could have done for him if she had more knowledge.

Julliana Hong felt useless for the first time in a while. To respect the only companion she had in months, she dug a grave for him and even made a wooden tombstone. It remained blank as she never got his name. Despite being a scientist, she prayed to God and hoped that the man's soul be sent to heaven.

The sins he committed... she wanted those to be forgiven. He suffered enough, after all. To be bonded to such a creature and his freedom stolen from him, Ana thought that he already paid the toll for his sins and that maybe God could let him inside the heavens.

Ana stared at the open ocean once before turning back to the woods. The scientist made her choice. The country of that man will be saved but first, she had to get off this island.

Pronto.


	2. chapter 2

Resembool was nice.

Julliana Hong simply groaned when she realized the fact that the train ride was quite the opposite. "I miss how conventional modern train had been." The scientist muttered under her breath, wondering when the train would stop.

She had been to Central and not even ten minutes in, she left just as the girl arrived. The military patrolling around got on her nerves quite fast and since she couldn't stand the idea of being in the same vicinity as those people, she got on a train that was leaving in a few minutes.

And that train was headed for Resembool.

The seat was uncomfortable like hell. The seats were hard and there was barely any foam in them, making the journey quite annoying. Instead of thinking in comfortable silence, all Ana could think about was how every trip she would make would be like this every single time.

She did not look forward for that.

On the other hand, despite her annoyance, Ana was quite satisfied with her accomplishments. The items she made from the island she woke up in had gathered quite the money. With those, she managed to buy some clothes— c l o t h e s!

The scientist salvaged her lab coat though, some odd miracle it was considering how the pristine white coat became unrecognizable when she left the island. She found some black trousers and gray croptops. She bought at least two pairs and some undergarments.

Her backback, thankfully, wasn't heavy and bulky with the clothes and other necessities she bought. Of course, she couldn't forget her precious lab coat. The girl received several odd looks when she had walked around the place— she didn't get the name of that first town she'd been in.

Ana stretched her legs and arms, back arching accompanied by several popping sounds. Peering out the window, she saw the station coming close, urging her to pick up her backpack. "I wonder what's out here." She muttered to herself, the scientist getting off the train as soon as it stopped completely.

All at once, the scent of moist soil and fresh air hit her. A smile graced the lips of that girl before a grinning. "I already like this place." Being a scientist, one would have imagined that they love being cooped up inside their lab to work on their project.

Ana wasn't like that.

The young scientist loved being outside as much as she loved her field of study. Something about the fresh air, the sky, and simply Mother Earth made her happy. Maybe it was the sense of being free but Ana was not certain what it was that she loved.

One quick hike down a miniature hill, Ana was ready to keel over. "Stupid, stupid hill you should just burn and crumble and just d i e—" a flash of gold and yellow stopped her from ranting. Three kids looked at her with big wide eyes. Two boys and one girl, to be specific.

"Ah, hey..."

If it weren't for the fact that there were children, Ana would have cursed at herself for being so fucking awkward. "Are you okay, big sis?" The blonde girl asked in curiosity, approaching her in little steps when the blond boy (who was just a tad bit taller than the o t h e r blond boy) grabbed the girl.

"Oi, Winry, what if she's a bad person?" Ana assumed that the boy whispered but in reality, she heard him loud and clear. The scientist acted as if she didn't hear anything though, finding some amusement in her own predicament.

"C'mon, Ed, don't be silly. Big sis doesn't look like a bad person."

"Well, she does to me."

... Ana took offense to that. She didn't look too bad... right?

"... uh, guys, I think she can hear you. You guys aren't really whispering."

The youngest (well, to her the shortest boy definitely seemed like it) of the three pointed out at last and laughter escaped Ana's lips when the arguing children blushed in mortification. "S-Sorry about that, big sis!" The one called Winry apologized. "Ed can be such a meanie anyway!"

"H-Hey, I am not, you automail freak!"

"Alchemy freak!"

As this Winry and Ed continued arguing, the youngest approached Ana and bowed, flustered and embarrassed by his companions rudeness. "I-I'm sorry about them, big sis! They're actually pretty nice!" Ana smiled, reaching out to pat the boy's head, startling said child as he glanced up at her.

"It's fine, it's fine. Kids will be kids. They'll grow out of it." She paused before saying, "Actually, by the looks of it, those two won't change." Ana muttered in exasperation, making the boy snicker a bit in silence as they watch Winry and Ed tackle each other into the grass.

"I'm Julliana Hong, by the way, but you can call me Ana since you're a better kid than those two. In fact, from now on, you'll be my favorite kid." Ana winked at him, grinning quite like a child which he mirrored back at her. "I'm Alphonse, Sister Ana!"

"Nice to meet 'ya, Alphonse!"

"No fair, Al!"

And all of a sudden, Ana found herself in the middle of a 'war' where the three kids argued which one should be her favorite kid... the fact that they just met over ten minutes ago made it look so adorable for Ana and made her horrified how these kids could be so comfortable in the presence of a stranger.

Having had enough, Ana clapped her hands, shutting up the trio. "Alright, alright, you brats, stop fighting." They had frozen midfight. The one called Ed had a handful of Winry's hair, said girl was sitting on Alphonse's back, and poor little Alphonse was... in the process of biting Ed's leg.

"For kids your age, you three are pretty violent, aren't you?" Ana gave them rather fond looks. She might not be fond of children in all honesty but these three were adorable. "Alright, on your feet, you three." As fast as they could muster, the blond trio got om their feet, almost falling over each other but they managed.

"Like I told my favorite little kid here, " she gestured at Alphonse, who smiled in triumph whereas the other two pouted. Ana just couldn't resist teasing them. "My name's Julliana Hong but call me Ana, alright?" All of a sudden, Ed raised his hand. "Edward Elric! And hey, are you an alchemist?!" There was an impatient eagerness in his eyes for her answer.

His question stumped Ana. Alchemy? He does mean Chemistry, right? "Uh, well, no." He practically deflated in disappointment, making her eye twitch in annoyance. "I am a scientist though." His disappointment was clear as crystal and this served to further annoy Ana.

Seeing that she was going nowhere with the shrimpy brat, she turned to face Winry who smiled as bright as the sun. "I'm Winry Rockbell, Big Sis Ana! I'll be the best automail mechanic!" Automail? As in e-mail? What does she mean by mechanic though? Is she planning on becoming a techie?

Their words confused her to no end. Alchemy? Automail? Ana wasn't at all familiar with those words. "Ah, well, just do your best, Winry. I'm sure you can do it." Ana wasn't about to kill the kid's joy though so she would just go along with them. The blonde beamed up at her with a pretty smile.

"Hey, big sis?" Ana hummed at Alphonse. "What are you doing here in Resembool? I've never seen you before." At his question, the other blonds looked up at her. The scientist opened her mouth to speak before closing it. In all honesty? She just disliked Central with all the military people milling about.

"Well, I'm traveling, I guess? I have no where to go, really." The scientist smiled at them. It was true. She lost everything dear to her a little over some months ago. She doesn't even know what happened. "I wanna travel, too!" Alphonse declared for some reason, making Ana blink in surprise.

Edward looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Why so sudden, Al?" His brother shrugged his shoulders in response. "It sounds fun, don't you think so, brother?" The older brother rolled his eyes. Before any of them could speak, a voice had called out the names of these three kids Ana just met.

A woman with thick luscious brown hair arrived, a little out of breath from jogging where she had been. The woman stopped in front of them before giving the kids a stern look. "Ed, Al, Winry, where have you been?" The trio started sweating in nervousness, giving the woman a shaky smile.

"M-Mom!" Edward exclaimed in surprise.

"W-Well, we were, uh..." Winry started but got tongue-tied in the end.

Alphonse remained quiet at the side.

"Sorry, ma'am, I was telling them a story."

Ana finally got the woman— the boy's mom— to acknowledge her presence. It seemed like she had been way too focused on scolding the kids. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you!" The brunette already looked timid but even the way she apologized was timid. "I was just worried that something happened to them." She gave the kids a pointed look.

"They were supposed to be back twenty minutes ago."

Ana laughed a little, causing all of them to glance at her in confusion. "Sorry, I never really had this kind of family dynamic before so it's kind of refreshing to see." There was a few moments of silence before the woman broke it.

"I'm Trisha Elric." Ana blinked at the sudden change of topic before blushing a little upon seeing the motherly smile on Trisha's face. Ana had seen far more beautiful people in her years of living but Trisha Elric seemed to have the most beatiful smile she'd seen. "J-Julliana Hong, Ms. Elric."

After that, Ana found herself sitting in a table at the Rockbell household. It had been a long while since she had some good home cooked meal. The scent of stew, fresh morning bread, and several other mouth-watering dishes invaded her senses.

Without meaning to, Ana dug in like a rabid dog and devoured the food laid out in front of her. Several pairs of eyes stared at her in surprise and some in amusement as not even five minutes later, all the food in her plate disappeared, leaving only a few stains and grains of rice.

Edward snickered at her while Alphonse nudged his brother on the side. "That's kind of rude," The younger Elric said. "You're way worse than big sis Ana, though." Ana watched with amused eyes as the Elric brothers began arguing in hushed tones. She failed to notice the look Trisha was giving her with a contemplative expression painting her face. "Ana?"

The siblings stopped to look at their mom while Ana gave her full attention to the brunette... but was still taking a spoonful bite of her stew. "What is it, Miss Elric?" The look thrown at the scientist's way made her chuckle in sheepish. "Right, right, sorry, Aunty Trisha." No matter how Ana looked at it, the woman in front of her managed to con her into calling her Auntie of all things. "Well, Ana," the brunette started with a thoughtful look, her sons taking small bites of stew while listening in.

"Why don't you stay for the night? You said you're traveling, right? There's not really any inns here in Resembool."

"I was planning on camping out—" the look of disbelief Trisha thrown her way made Ana grin a little. "— but since you offered, I'd gladly take it." The scientist reached across the table to ruffle Alphonse's hair in a playful manner. "Besides, that way, I can spend some time with my favorite little kid." Said favorite giggled while Edward crossed his arms and pouted. Ana noticed this and grinned. "Well, him and this pipsqueak, too."

Edward blushed in embarrassment and was about to go on a rant when Trisha raised an eyebrow at him. Ana snickered a little but quietened down when she got the same look from her self-proclaimed auntie.

After breakfast, the siblings had dragged her out in the yard after making a stop in a study room to get some books and a piece of chalk each for the boys. Ana failed to see where this was going as they settled down on the dirt ground, books sprawled around them as they started talking about... _Chemistry_? Her eyebrows shot up in astonishment. She knew a lot of people who just couldn't comprehend some of the things these boys talked about.

_They have a pretty good in-depth understanding of the basics; especially for their age._ Ana dubbed Edward and Alphonse as prodigies in her head when she noticed them drawing a circle on the ground. "What are you guys doing?" Edward gave her a grin and Alphonse mirrored his brother's expression. "Alchemy!" They declared and that made Ana confused even further. _It's that term again. That word hasn't been used in a long time in the field of Science since it's been replaced by the term Chemistry._

The next thing she knew, the boys had slammed their hands on the circle— where they had drawn symbols inside— and a flash of blue light greeted her. Her years in the field of Sciences helped her stay composed. _But what the hell_?! After it died down, she saw figures at the center of their circle; a figure that's supposed to be... a dog? At least, that's what it looks like on Alphonse's side. Edward's... looked like some kind of deformed version of a dog.

"What... How did you do that?" Edward threw her an incredulous look. "Alchemy..? We just told you, didn't we?" Ana tried to wrap her mind in this new... phenomenon she just witnessed. The boys watched her analyze their creation. She noticed how there was a miniature crater just underneath their figurines. _Some sort of exchange? Something can't be built from nothing, after all. They used the dirt as prime material. What about the circle? It served as the medium— the catalyst for this Alchemy they keep blabbering about._

Edward and Alphonse glanced at each other, waiting for Ana's reaction. It was obvious to them that wherever she had come from, Alchemy had never been a popular topic at all.

_But what did they use? The circle is only a medium; a focal point for something to... deconstruct? I mean, for the dirt to move, it had to be broken down to its base material or maybe on an atomic level? And then they've reconstructed it back to its original state but in a different shape._ Ana, too deep in her thoughts, had her fingers touch subconsciously as she analyzed, her chin resting on the webbing of her index fingers and thumbs, the latter of which resting below her chin.

_From what I remember, Alchemy from medieval times was considered a branch of Science among other things. It's probably most popular about how 'alchemists' sought the process of turning metals to gold. What I don't understand is how these brats did what they did._ Ana eyed the circles and figurines again before diving back into her thoughts. _It wasn't proven that Alchemy could be used like that but here... Alchemy **is** a Science everyone knows and **has** its uses. It is **real**. It can be done._

Her sudden realization pulled her out of her head as she looked at the Elric siblings. "Ed," the older blond snapped to attention. "From what I gather, this Alchemy—" she gestured at their work. "— works by deconstruction and reconstruction by using a medium; that circle you've drawn."

"Er, yeah, that's the basics of Alchemy."

"What's the source then? The energy required to perform this? That circle is only a medium. It's not enough to do... that." Edward blinked in surprise. He honestly thought that their big sis Ana was awesome for deducing so much after looking at their worka; especially for someone who had no idea about said science. Alphonse spoke up when Edward was too in awe. "Um, we use the energy from the moving tectonic plates."

Ana blinked at this. "The energy from the plates?" Things still confused her but the scientist was determined to figure things out. If Alchemy can be done in this world, then what happened to that man could have only been caused by Alchemy. _And I vowed to help people who might be in the same state as him._ The memory itself made her grimace. It wasn't going to be easy, after all. "Hey, my favorite little munchkins," Edward pouted at that while Alphonse giggled like the adorable brat he was.

"Think you can teach me how to use Alchemy?" Ana grinned right after, the boys mirroring her expression. "Of course, we will, big sis!" Alphonse exclaimed in excitement. Edward simply puffed his chest out. "I, Edward Elric, would gladly help you!" Ana rolled her eyes in response with an amused smile but they were cute.

**oooOooo**

Not even two weeks in and Ana already performed a basic transmutation that bested even Alphonse's. Edward gaped at the finely detailed sculpture of Den— who they've introduced to Ana a few days back— while Alphonse fawned over it. "How—" he choked on his own saliva as he turned around to give Ana, who seemed to be looking a little smug over her victory, a betrayed look. "How can you be so good at this?! It took Al and I a month!"

Ana blinked in surprise. "Munchkin, that's actually impressive if you ask me." Edward blinked back, a little taken aback by the praise. "I've already had a good grasp of Chemistry and a few laws concerning Alchemy. All I needed was bury myself in books about alchemical theory and the symbols. Two weeks is still a long time for that. Besides, I've always had an eye for detail." The scientist crouched down with a smile on her face.

"For you and Al to have grasped the fundamentals of Chemistry, the alchemical theories, laws, and the symbols required for Alchemy; I'd say a month is pretty impressive." He blushed a little at her compliments, suddenly feeling a bit shy because of his outburst earlier. "You may not have an eye for detail like your brother but the both of you are awesome at what you're doing. Especially someone at your age. Most adults don't even try and understand Chemistry unless it's in their line of work, you know?" Ana reached out and ruffled his hair.

Edward grumbled incoherent things under his breath before slapping her hand away for messing his hair. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, big sis." Ana just grinned at his pouting expression. Now, she wondered why kids she met before dropping in this world couldn't have been as cute as the Elrics and Winry. "Wah, big sis, can you make another one? A bunny? Or a horse!" Ana shook her head, laughing softly at Alphonse's enthusiasm. "Now, now, other munchkin—" the younger Elric giggled at the nickname.

"— why don't you and your brother show me how much you improved in the two weeks you taught me? A teacher does not only teach, they also learn things in the process, after all." The brothers looked at each other and began preparing their work. Ana watched as they work deeply on their transmutation circle. _Now, all I need is to further the knowledge I've gained. The basics aren't enough to reverse the complicated process of making that chimera._

A yawn left her lips just as two idental flashes of blue light came from their transmutation. Once again, Alphonse's looked best while Edward's... looked better than it did before but was still a little deformed. Ana laughed softly as Edward sulked a bit. "Why don't we show them to Auntie Trisha?" The brothers perked up, picked up their sculpture, and ran back to the house while calling for their mother.

The scientist shook her head in fondness. The heat was getting to her so she might as well go inside, too. As she opened the back door, she heard Alphonse scream, "_B-Big sis! Help_!" and she rushed inside in panic. What she saw made her blood run cold. Ana found herself kneeling down beside Trisha in haste. "Ed, Al, go and get Granny Pinako!" The two hesitated but one look from Ana, they left for the Rockbell House.

The scientist picked up the brunette with a bit of difficulty and laid her down on the couch. Trisha's breath was fast and shallow, she broke into uncontrollable sweating, her body heat high than it usually was. "Auntie Trisha, stay with me, the brats are already calling for help, okay?" She was a scientist, not a doctor, and she couldn't do a single thing. Trisha grabbed her hand out of the blue, startling Ana. "Sweetie," Ana froze a little at the endearment. "If I... if I don't make it... please... please take care of the boys..."

"I will," she snapped out of it, squeezing Trisha's hand in reassurance. "But you're going to make it, auntie, so stay with us." The Elric woman smiled, though a bit shaky, and they waited for help to come.

Ana didn't know what to think of everything. She was traveling for the sake of knowledge; to help people who might be in the same situation as that chimera man. She didn't think she would be getting attached to people she just met for not even a month. They grew on her like some sort of annoying fungus and she liked them. Loved them even. The duration didn't even matter to her; she fell in love with this family because they made her feel like she was a part of it.

The next few days became dark for all of them as Trisha struggled with her illness. Ana kept true to her words; she took care of the brothers. Their mother fought until the end but Ana could see how exhausted she was and one morning, Trisha never woke up. The funeral was held the next day and even though it was too fast for Ana's liking, she couldn't do anything about it.

The scientist watched over the brothers as they sit in front of their mother's grave. From what Trisha told her, their father had just walked out on them and then, this happened. Granny Pinako had said that she would Ana look after the boys and that made the scientist grateful. She had never taken care of anybody else so it was a relief to have someone there to back her up.

"Munchkins," she called out after getting a shiver from the cold. "Let's go back. It's starting to get too cold." Neither of them moved which caused her to sigh. The scientist approached the two and knelt down behind them, resting a hand on their head. "I don't fancy the idea of you two getting sick so let's go home. We can visit again tomorrow, I promise. We can even stay here all day." Silence greeted her before Edward glanced at her with a blank look.

"... promise?"

"I promise, Munchkin."

"... Al fell asleep."

Ana gave him a small smile before she picked up the younger Elric in her arms. After making sure that Alphonse was comfortable, she held Ed's hand as they walked back home. Night had fallen as they walk through the dirt road leading to their home. It wasn't until the house was in sight that Edward spoke up again. "Big sis..." Ana hummed softly under her breath.

"... you won't leave, too... will you?"

The question made her pause in her steps, the frantic expression on Edward's face broke her heart. She knelt on one knee, resting Alphonse on her propped up leg before she pulled Edward in a tight hug. "I won't." She whispered. "I don't plan on going anywhere, Ed."

Ana decided then and there.

She could still work on Alchemy here in Resembool.

She refused to leave these brothers on their own.


	3. chapter 3

"Munchkins, breakfast is ready!"

Julliana Hong called her little minions as she placed down the last plate for the youngest Elric on the dining table. There was a thud— two, to be specific— that echoed in the house which caused the scientist to shake her head in exasperation. Two kids with blond hair— both having different shades from each other— stumbled into the kitchen, almost tripping over each other before taking a seat.

Ana rolled her eyes and messed up their still messy hair— they still had bedheads. "Don't be too late for school, got it?" She reminded them as she herself sat down. The brats started eating and ignored her words. This prompted her to scold them but stopped herself. Instead, Ana sighed in fondness. "Remember what I told you guys last night?" Edward paused a bit before resumed on scarfing down his breakfast while Alphonse glanced at her with a pout.

"Do you really have to? I don't want big sis to be gone for so long."

"I don't want to either, other munchkin," she said after downing a glass of water. "It might take me a few weeks before I get back. After school—" Edward cut her off. "— head to Granny Pinako's, we know. Sheesh, you've been saying that again and again and again, big sis." Ana flicked Edward's forehead with a smile. "I'm only worried about you two. Now that you're finished being rude—" the scientist gave the eldest Elric a stern look, making him smile in sheepish.

"— go and get ready. I promised Winry that I'll walk you guys."

Both Elrics did not waste more time as they scarfed down their breakfast and headed away to take a shower. Ana herself picked up the dishes and washed them while humming a random tune. It had been two years since her aunt passed away and the first few months were rather hard on all of them. Ana didn't know how to comfort her favorite kids because no ome had comfor the scientist when she had lost someone.

She had a lot of trial and errors in the beginning but she managed with Granny Pinako's help. It took her a while to get Edward out of his shell though since he was just as stubborn as a bull. Alphonse hadn't made her work on him since the youngest Elric had been understanding of everything. She wiped her hands on a clean rag and pushed in the chairs in the table.

The boys' mother had left quite a few savings and it had lasted for almost two and a half years since Ana knew how to handle money. Right now, they were in the middle of a crisis. Like she said, it lasted for almost two and a half years and soon enough, they wouldn't have anything to spend. The scientist had decided that like what she had done back on that island, she would sell a few handcrafted items in Central— at the same store she had been last time.

The owner liked her work a lot and he had told her that he would be happy to buy more from her if she ever needed money. It was a nice offer and Ana was glad she didn't turn it down back then. She only hoped that the owner— Simon— didn't forget about her. The crafts she sold were simple puzzles, one that intrigued the chimera man while he had been on his deathbed. The scientist deduced that if a man like her, a scientist, found them intriguing, then maybe the people of this world would, too.

"We're done!"

The scientist smiled as she pushed herself off the wall she had been leaning for a while, the three of them heading out while she locked the door. "Hey, big sis?"

"Yes, munchkin?" She asked Edward while pulling out a book from her satchel. "Why do you always wear that labcoat anyway?" Ana didn't react but inwardly, she winced. The question took her off guard, that's all. "... it's a reminder of my home."

Edward and Alphonse looked at each other in surprise. This was the first time she ever mentioned something like that. "What's it like?" Alphonse asked after a few moments of silence. The nostalgic smile on her face was soft and gentle, her eyes unfocused as she relived a few memories of her past. "You know, like you two, I had a brother once." They promptly ignored her usage of past tense. "We were always getting in trouble because he likes playing pranks on people... a lot. On average, I think we get scolded seven times a day?"

The three of the chuckled at that. "He was... he was my only friend. I wasn't social. I was that one weird kid in our age group so no one wanted to do anything with me." Alphonse gasped at that, aghast that they would think that. "But my brother? My brother was popular. That's why people just tolerated me or sucked up to me to get close to him. It was really annoying but he always had my back. When they get too much, he was there to chase them away. When they get too physical, he was there to beat them up."

She snorted at that memory. "I couldn't take it so I asked the school if I could graduate then and there." At this, Ana gave her little minions a toothy grin. "Your big sister is a genius in her own right, you know?" The Elrics laughed a little lightheartedly at that. "They were skeptical at first but gave me a chance. I graduated way ahead of my peers. My brother was so happy, actually. So happy that he used his savings to buy me a labcoat with a really good quality. This labcoat is all I have left of him when he passed away."

"He sounds like an awesome brother!" Alphonse exclaimed. Ana smiled and agreed. "Yeah, he was."

Edward had this concentrated look on his face just as they reach the Rockbell house. As Winry joined them and had began walking to their school, Edward finally decided. "I swear," everyone looked at him in confusion. He had been silent for a while, after all. "I'll be like your brother, big sis. I'll be a great brother to Al!" Ana blinked in surprise before bursting into laughter, followed by Winry and Alphonse. Edward gave them a wide eyed look before blushing in embarrassment. "W-Why are you guys laughing?! Al, you should be on my side!"

But they just kept laughing.

**oooOooo**

Ana had left for Central after dropping off the kids and getting her luggage back home. She was going to miss her trio of minions.

**oooOooo**

The scientist stretched her arms as soon as she got off the train. The seats stayed the same: hard and uncomfortable. Ana wondered if this country would ever changed those goddamn seats. "Cause fuck it, this country isn't earning any good points with me." She grumbled under her breath as she left the train station. Instead of calling a taxi like a normal person would, the scientist walked to her destination. It was... three hours away but compared to that ride on the train?

Yeah, she'd prefer to move her body after that.

The cobble stone sidewalk remained the same from what she remembered two years ago and the officers patrolling around were, admittedly, a lot less from what she expected. A yawn escaped her lips, the monotone life here in Central making her sleepy. As if nothing exciting ever happened—

— a loud crash came from the intersection in front of her—

— and she stood corrected. "What now?" Ana grumbled under her breath as the smoke from the crash subsided. It revealed a man in torn clothes and bloodied fists who seemed to be crouching over a... dead body. "So fan-fucking-tastic my first day here in Central is turning out to be." Despite the danger ahead, Ana kept going on ahead with her destination in mind. It should be just around that street and she would see that familiar antique shop went to two years ago.

Scream came from the populace and started running opposite where she was aheading. A few bumped on her shoulder and didn't bother apologizing as they ran away like the idiots they were. A sigh left her. She really missed her little minions right about now. Something flew right in front of her and crashed into the cafe on her left. That made her stop and glanced at the source of it. It was that same man from a few seconds ago and he was staring at her.

"M-Miss, run away!" The one who crash landed into the cafe warned her but the situation started irritating her. Central was the last place she wanted to be in and a growing hatred for this place bloomed because of this stupid situation she found herself in. Instead of running away like what the soldier told her, she faced the stupid man who started all this ruckus. Her irritated eyes met his. "Why don't you go and find a damn playground to play in with the military, bastard. You're disturbing the people here."

Ana was sure that the crash landing guy was glaring at her because of her idiocy but that was not the point. The scientist wanted a peaceful trip; a simple go here, do what needs to be done and scurry away back home to her loveable little brats.

Without getting a reply from him, the man charged at her and the soldier behind her started screaming at her to get away and far from here. _Honsetly_, she thought to herself incredulously. _How can they not capture this guy_? One look and Ana knew that he was the type to-get-angry-and-charge-in kind of guy. From what she had seen from that brief action earlier, this guy had been touching that corpse's face when the dust subsided.

The corpse, now, was bloody as fuck.

_Probably used alchemy to burst the blood vessels in one's body. Increased kinetic energy perhaps? The circulation? Production_? Were her thoughts and she realized that the bastard's hand was just a few inches away, she crouched down, swings her leg in an arc horizontally; successfully forcing him down to kiss the ground. Ana moved quickly as if she was back on that island escaping with her food for that day from a pride of lions.

The scientist reached for both of his arms and gripped them tightly. She forced the man on his stomach by putting a foot down on his back as she removed the scarf around her neck. It served as an effective makeshift handcuff as she tied the man's wrist together with her scarf. The extra cloth she wrapped around his hands and covered them completely so that he wouldn't be able to use alchemy at all and kill someone even if he managed to escape.

Finished with apprehending whoever the fuck this guy was, Ana looked at the officer who had been screaming at her to flee. He looked like the dead with how pale he was. His sharp black eyes widened in shock as if he couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. The same could be said with the rest of the reinforcement that just arrived. The scientist approached the crash landing soldier and pulled him out of the debris he was in. "Seriously, how have you not caught him yet? Are you new to your job or something?"

The soldier blinked rapidly before nodding. "J-Just a little over a year." Ana sighed in response. "I've got to run, be more careful, why don't you?" The scientist walked away without a care in the world and rounded off the street. She left the witnesses speechless before the crash landing soldier snapped out of it and tried to chase after her. However, when he rounded the corner, she was no where to be seen

"What the..?"

But in actuality?

The shop Ana had been looking for was just two houses down when she turned at that corner. The scientist entered the antique shop with a smile. "Mister Simon? It's me, Hong. I brought back a few things you might be interested in." An aged man emerged from the backroom and brightened up at the sight of her. "Ah, Miss Hong! It's such a delight to see you!" Said scientist chuckled a little.

She approached the counter and placed the wood-carved (via alchemy) puzzles she had made. Simon grabbed them with a thoughtful look, eyeing each item with interest. "And in case you can't solve it— or, well, have difficulty solving it— I wrote an instruction manual _and_ how you should go about into solving it." The last thing she placed down on the counter was a handwritten pamphlet of each puzzle she had brought.

Simon's eyes glistened before snatching her hand and shaking it. "I'll have them, Miss Hong!" The scientist beamed at him and as she waited for his payment, she looked around the shop with a lot more attention than she had before. It seemed as if Simon managed to collect a lot more stuff in just two years. She walked around, making sure not to topple anything over or worse, actually break something.

The scent of aged wood wafted through her senses; she kind of actually liked the scent more than she expected. "Miss Hong, here it is!" Ana went back to the counter, an envelope laid atop near the register. "Thank you for providing them. You'll be here longer, won't you? Compared to last time, I mean." Ana simply smiled and nodded. "Yes, I may be here for a few weeks, actually."

"Mhm, what for? Staying in Central with no official business. I thought you're out there traveling wherever?" Simon ended it with a question, curious about why she would be staying in the capital a lot longer than he thought. "I, uh," the scientist stuttered at the beginning. "Well, I'm looking after two kids, actually, cause of some circumstances. I can't really go and travel in my situation right now."

Simon blinked in surprise. He didn't dare assume that those kid were hers because while he was curious, he respected his customer's private life enough not to ask about it. "Make sure not to stress yourself. Kids can be a handful, after all!" He himself looked after three kids with his wife, his eldest out and about serving in the best club in the capital. Ana half-smiled at his words, a bit touched by his concern.

"I'll try not to be then, Mister Simon. Anyways," she said and picked up the envelope, shoving it in her bag. "I'll stop by every three days to answer any of your concern about those puzzles. I best be going then." She said her farewells and left the shop. The money she earned would last for about four months, give or take a few days. It was still more than she thought she would be getting.

The moment she stepped out, however, someone bumped into her for the umpteenth time today. This time that someone apologized compared to those bumbling idiots earlier. "I'm—" he paused, Ana looking up in curiosity before blinking in surprise.

"It's you!"

"Oh, it's just you."

In front of Ana stood the crash landing soldier and in the half hour she had been gone, he had cleaned up quite nicely and his injures were tended to. "For earlier, miss—" Ana stopped him right there by placing a finger on his lips, startling the soldier rather badly. She wasn't about to take whatever shits the military would be saying. "Hold up right there." Ana said with a glare.

"Whatever it was you were going to say, save it. I'm not interested in whatever the fuck it is." The soldier blinked, stunned by her words, as Ana went on her merry way. She'd done what she needed to do today and she should be looking for a motel she could spend the rest of her weeks in. "W-Wait a sec!" Ana groaned in frustration as she turned around to face him.

"What now?"

"Um, well, my superior wants to thank you."

Ana gave him a blank stare. "And like I said, I don't fucking care." The soldier guffawed at her bluntness. Before the scientist could cross the street— the military was really trying to get on her nerves— a car parked near her and out came a soldier with an... eyepatch? Was he blind in that eye from an injury? "Führer, sir!" The scientist basically froze where she stood.

_Did he just say... Führer?!_

"At ease, Mustang."

For once in her life, Julliana Hong became speechless. When she got here in Central, she planned on following what she had in plan for her stay here. To meet the ruler of this country? Well, that could be checked out of her bucket list. "I heard from my men that you were the one responsible for Bane's capture." Ana gulped but made sure not to show how nervous she was. "I would love to know your name."

Ana wasn't at all well versed in politics but she damn well knew that this man— the Führer— had some sort of agenda for actually meeting her in person. She would have understood if it was the one who was handling that case but it wasn't. This was the man who ruled this military-based country. "Julliana Hong, at your service, Führer." The scientist muttered under her breath. "But I best be going. I have—"

The Führer suddenly patted her on the back as if they were some kind of childhood friends who hadn't seen each other years. "Of course, of course! I'll have Mustang here escort you back then!" Said soldier blinked befre spluttering gibberish due to surprise. "I have somewhere to be. I'll see you in due time, Miss Hong." The ominous feeling she got from those words of his unnerved her.

"Miss—"

"No need," she cut him off in abrupt. "I can handle myself. I'm sure you have more pressing matters to do, officer." As she started walking away and trying to get a good grasp of what just happened to her in the first few hours in Central, Ana cursed under her breath. Just what on earth did she just stumble into? The pitter patter of footsteps behind her made her grumble a string of curses but prompted to ignore... Mustang, was it?

Ana proceeded to walk around, looking for the cheapest hotel. She didn't have extra to spend on such things, after all. "Miss Hong? If you're looking for a place to stay, I know a few motels around this part." The scientist turned around with a raised eyebrow, the soldier maintaining an impeccable poker face. "The cheapest," she paused. "If you would be kind enough to guide me there, Sir Mustang."

She could act like a lady when she wanted to, you know? The ravenet nodded, a bit pleased at his accomplishment. He still hadn't forgotten what happened about over half an hour ago, after all. Even if he had been a flirt when he entered the military, Roy Mustang knew that the woman in front of him wasn't one to be trifled with; especially when a civilian-looking woman like her single-handedly apprehended an alchemist.

He wondered where she learned how to fight though. Roy himself wasn't a good hand-to-hand combatant so the woman— Miss Hong— earned his respect. Not a lotof people could say that they were proficient in that art, after all. Adequate, maybe. About ten minutes, Roy had stopped in front of a fairly moderate-looking motel where Miss Hong could spend and stay however long she wanted. The woman turned around to face him, a grateful smile graced her lips.

"Thank you, Sir Mustang."

Maybe she wasn't so bad—

"Now, scram. I don't want anything to do with you people."

— and he stood corrected.

"You could be a little polite, you know?" Roy guffawed when the woman sneered at him. Just what was with her?! "Keyword: _could_ and I don't want to, if that's what you're hoping for." _The nerve of this woman_... no, Roy wasn't angry or irritated. In fact, her attitude intrigued him. Her response caused him to laugh a little, Miss Hong blinking a bit startled by his reaction.

As she walked towards the door, Roy asked, "How long will you be staying?" She paused, as if calcuting the time she'll be spending in Central before smiling at him a bit too innocent. "As long as I please, Sir Mustang."

Roy stifled the laughter in his throat, coughing a little to get it out instead. He watched as the woman entered the building, leaving him there with a thoughtful look. She was... interesting as he had thought earlier. When he first saw her, Roy thought that she was going to die in the hands of Bane who had been a bane to the military, get it? No? Anyway, the moment Bane charged at her, Roy thought she was finished.

He thought that she froze in fear, unable to move in the face of danger but she caught Bane faster than any one of them who had been trying to get him. It shocked him— and everyone else, really— how a woman of her stature could do that. Roy wasn't being sexist or anything, he knew a woman, too, who could be as dangerous. No, it was because Miss Hong looked _entirely civilian_, with that white blouse and dark blue shin-length skirt.

Added to that, she carried a luggage with her.

Roy Mustang had to hand it to her; she worked more efficiently than most of his coworkers in the military.

**oooOooo**

Ana gaped in disbelief.

Roy smirked in triumph.

"What are you doing here?" The scientist asked in wonder. Across from her, the soldier smiled in a natural way as he waved a hand in greeting. "Good morning to you, too, Miss Hong." A flash pf irritation gleamed in Ana's eye of which Roy noticed, making smile a tad bid wider than it was already. "I heard from a little birdie you'd be heading to a certain antique shop."

The woman blinked before scowling response. Her eyebrow furrowed together in her frustration. "I knew I shouldn't have said I'll be dropping by." The soldier grinned even wider at that. "Oh, so you are heading there! Let me accompany you then, Miss Hong." Said scientist blinked a little before gawking at him with an unbelieving stare.

"You... You didn't—" Ana groaned and stomped away from him, heading for the antique shop of Mister Simon. Behind her, Roy followed after the woman and chuckled a little at her frusrated expression. She peeked a little behind her, seeing that smug look on his pretty boy face. An incoherent string of curses escaped her lips. Ana entered the antique shop with a scowl, surprising Simon inside.

"You seem to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed, Miss Hong." Simon commented before seeing a young man enter right after his favorite customer. "Oh?"

"Don't." Simon chuckled in amusement. "I won't, I won't. I just want to ask about this—"

Roy stopped near the door and watched as they got into a heated discussion about some wooden contraption Simon brought on top of the counter. From what he heard, it was some sort of puzzle that Miss Hong brought. That earned them a raised eyebrow from the soldier. Roy listened in, aa bit surprised how well Miss Hong knew the ins and outs of that puzzle as if she were the one who made it.

The next few days, Roy had gone ahead and bothered Ana every single time he was on break. The two formed some sort of friendship but Ana insisted that they were just acquaintances. Roy rolled his eyes at that and stubbornly declared that they were friends. This time, it was the scientist who would roll her eyes with a tad bit of fondness for the flirt.

It came to an end when on the last day Ana was supposed to be in Central still, the Führer yet again made an appearance when she and Roy were out at a café eating breakfast. Everyone in the establishment froze in surprise whereas Roy saluted like he was supposed to. Beside him, Ana scowled in her seat. "Führer, what a surprise." The scientist faked a smile, catching Roy's eyes.

He himself didn't know why the Führer was here but Ana seemed to have an idea. King Bradley mirrored Ana's smile and chuckled a bit. "I wouldn't say it's such a surprise, Miss Hong."

"I suppose not."

"I came here for you."

Roy tensed up. What did he want with his friend? The scientist perked up a little, not at all surprised and looked as if she expected this. "And what for, Führer?"

"Join the military." It wasn't an offer. It wasn't a choice. It was a goddamn order from Führer King Bradley himself. Shock jolted Roy out of his stupor, wanting to say something but Ana held him back. "Your expertise is needed to win this war." The soldier blinked a little and wondered what this expertise of hers is. From the weeks he'd known her, Roy simply labeled her as his friend. He didn't ask unnecessary questions.

"Führer, I think you're mistaken. I'm just a woman taking care of two little kids whose mother passed away due to an illness. I'm nothing more than that. I know a few moves, yes, but beyond that? I'm just a simple... caretaker, if you will." Ana answered with a stony face, not willing to bend and admit defeat against the ruler of this country.

A sly smile curved on Bradley's lips, making Ana raise her guard up yet again. "The war's getting close to Resembool I hear. It's only a matter of a few months before it becomes a collateral damage." Ana gritted her teeth, he was obviously agitating her into agreeing. Roy didn't really know what he should do because any action against the Führer would be an insubordination.

"You have until the end of the day, Miss Hong. Enjoy your meal."

**oooOooo**

**A/N**

_Soooo, how was it?_


	4. chapter 4

"Um, Granny Pinako?"

"What is it, child? Are you on your way back already?"

"That's... That's the thing. I don't know _when_ I'll be back."

Pinako Rockbell frowned at the news Anna had just delivered. "What are you talking about? Did you get into trouble? I swear those kids are rubbing off on you, Julliana." There was a sigh on the other side of the phone. "More or less like that..? I've been directly ordered to aid in the war." The old woman felt as if a cold bucket of water rinsed her from head to toe.

"What?! Who gave that order?" The mechanic rarely loses her temper and when it did, the outcome would be disastrous. And the only other one who looked after the Elric brats being ordered to aid in that nonsense war? It served as fuel to Pinako's growing hatred against that stupid war with the Ishvalans. "Funny enough, it was the Führer-" the mechanic choked on air at that. "- so I can't exactly decline, granny."

Silence ensued on both sides. Pinako wanted Julliana to _decline_ a tall cost because she was the only anchor keeping the kids stay as they are. "Granny," Julliana started on the other end of the line. "I have no choice. Things would become complicated if I ignored the Führer's words. For some reason, he knew what I am; what I dabble in aside from alchemy."

She took a deep breath. "I have to do this. I'll mail the money I earned back to you guys, the military was kind enough to send a police in my stead. In addition to that, they gave me an early salary so I'm giving those to you guys, too. The position the Führer gave me is... well, it's complicated but that will last for a while. Just send a letter if you guys need more, I'll give you guys some as soon as I'm able."

Pinako wanted to protest. The boys needed her. Winry needed her. How on earth did thing come to this? "Granny, please tell the brats that I'll try to come home as soon as I can. That I'll definitely come back safe and sound. Please-" Pinako heard Julliana choke back a sob. "- Please tell them I love them and that they should watch each other's back while I'm gone. I'll come home, I swear."

The old mechanic let out a sigh in the end, a bit defeated by this outcome. Pinako knew they stand no choice against the words for Bradley. "Alright," Pinako finally said. "But come home soon. A hot warm stew would be waiting for you at the dinner table." The scientist chuckled a little from the other side of the phone. "I'm looking forward for that, then, Granny." It sounded like she wanted to say more but someome talked to her.

"I... I have to go. Stay safe."

"Take care, child."

As Pinako hung up, she wondered how she was going to break the news to the midgets.

**oooOooo**

Roy Mustang flinched a little in surprise when his friend, Julliana Hong, slammed the door open to the Führer's office. Inside were several higher ups aside from the King Bradley himself who looked on in amusement at Ana's actions. _This woman is crazy,_ he thought to himself in nervousness. The steelness of her nerves awed Roy, much to his chagrin. "Miss Hong, nice of you to join us."

The pair of friends entered, Roy saluting while Ana took a seat without a care in the world; probably annoying the men in this room aside from a few. "Please cut to the chase, Führer. You know as much as I do how I would prefer my time on more important things." If it weren't an act of insolence, Roy would have gawked at Ana's bluntness with no shame. However, he remained neutral as a few old men in the room glowered at his friend.

Honestly, Roy didn't know what to do with his friend sometimes.

Führer King Bradley bursted into laughter, catching a few of them off guard by his informal treatment with one of their newest soldier. "Gladly, Miss Hong. From now on, you're a part of Doctor Tim Marcoh's research group, the Crystal Alchemist. Any orders from the Doctor would be followed with no complaints, am I understood? Aside from that, you have your own project to work on." There was silence before one of the higher ups raised hand.

"What exactly have you seen in this woman, Führer? From her papers, I have seen no notable achievements in her life so far." Roy gave Ana a look when he noticed how her finger twitched at that. It wouldn't be a good idea if she went on a rampage with so many people here who could and would make her life miserable. King Bradley chuckled with no hint of humor whatsoever, his one visible eye sending shivers down Ana's spine.

"Why not say about a few of your 'achievements', Miss Hong?" The scientist felt as if she was challenged. In actuality, she would rather back out of this and go back to her minions in Resembool. However, the look in the Führer's eyes made her doubt that she could get away from this. He knew what buttons to push to make her move like a marionette, after all.

Ana's eyes zoned in on the puzzle on one of those old farts' hands. "That wooden item in your hold is made by yours truly. I can see you haven't progressed and reached the halfway point of solving it. Aside from that, I developed a few things that helped with the agriculture in Resembool." There were whispers amongst them, a few useless comments that urged her fury to show itself in front of them.

The scientist knew to hold herself back, however, even though she wanted nothing else more than to be by her family's side. "And why's that important?" One of them asked. If they couldn't see her implications, then what was the point of being assigned such a high rank. "Permission to speak." Roy uttered after growing tired of them degrading his friend. Bradley gave him permission.

"Simply put, what Miss Hong was trying to say was that if she was capable of making a puzzle that tried the mind of such high ranking officer and the fact that she was able to improve the state of Resembool's agriculture; it is safe to assume that the Führer wants her to create a biological weapon that no other could retaliate with." Ana grimaced at Roy's analysis but every word he said held a certain truth.

That was the Führer's aim; for Julliana Hong to make a biological weapon to use against the Ishvalans. Silence ensued in the room. King Bradley aimed for a biological warfare in which Ishvalans have no hope of winning; a weapon capable of killing every single one of them without causing too much destruction in Amestris' lands. Just the thought of it made Ana sick but she had no choice. The man right in front of her threatened her family with no remorse.

"Excellent deduction, Major Mustang."

Right after that, Ana didn't really know what happened. She got her identification, signed a few paperworks, and was handed with her new uniform. Roy escorted her out in silence, not knowing what to say at all. "Ana," the soldier called out after dropping her off at the military apartment she was assigned with.

"Are you sure about this?"

"I don't have much of a choice in all honesty. I don't know what has gotten in the Führer's mind when he decided to recruit me when the military have enough scientist to work on this personal project he just gave me. For now, at least, I don't have to worry about being killed when I'll be spending most of my time in the lab." The scientist sighed in exasperation, adjusting the uniform in her arms before it slipped out of her hold.

"When I got here in Central to sell those puzzles, I didn't expect to be pulled into the military." Ana opened the door of her new apartment. "Thanks, by the way, for being here. I don't know if I'd gone insane the second this... stuff process in my head. At least I've got you to keep me grounded, Roy." The soldier rolled his eyes and poked her forehead with his index finger. "Yeah, yeah, go get some rest."

As the two part ways, Roy was deep inside his head, thinking. Julliana Hong was just a civilian who got dragged into war with no choice but to cooperate when the Führer used her family as leverage against her. The soldier frowned at this unfairness but they were, after all, at war in the present. Maybe after this, he could think more about the darkness of what he himself found himself in.

Meanwhile, Ana found herself drowning in exasperation. All this just because she caught the Führer's attention that one time his own soldiers failed to capture someone. She wasn't saying that Roy was one of those incompetent soldiers— but really, at this point without him using alchemy, he was pretty useless. "For fuck's sake, what did I do in my past life to deserve this?" The scientist laid down on her bed rather haphazardly, her new accomodation a tad greater than the motel she'd been staying at this past few weeks.

Her luggage stood still beside her bed, she wasn't really in the mood to unpack at all. She believed that this wouldn't take long but who was she kidding? Biological weapon? Who in their right shitty mind would think that making such a thing would be easy? No one, really. Ana was just denying this whole thing even happened with all her might. "Although," she had a sudden epiphany of sorts after a few moments of silence. "I would be having access on files not readily accessible to civilians. I could also work on that separation thing on the side while I'm at it."

Because first and foremost, that goal remained first in her list of priorities aside from her bratty little munchkins. The chimera man had been fused with a handful of animals and, for some disgusting reason, he had explained to her the step-by-step process of making something like himself. "Equivalent Exchange," Ana muttered under her breath. "Nothing about that process explained the process of Equivalent Exchange. It didn't show that at all so what gives?"

The scientist ruffled her hair in her frustration before she noticed how long her wavy ginger locks had gotten ever since she got here in Central. She trapped a bundle of them between her fingers as she eyed the ends of her hair. "I need a haircut," she announced even though no one was there with her. Ana stood up and began looking for a pair of scissors, successfully finding one in the kitchen drawers. "Time to cut, I guess."

Julliana Hong was a scientist; she was not cut out to be a hairdresser.

By the time she was done and ginger hair strands littered the bathroom floor, her wavy locks came down to her chin instead of by her shoulder blades. A pair of cowlicked strands on each side of her face tickled her cheeks as they brushed pass by them. "I look like shit," Ana deadpanned with a blank look while looking at her stupid reflection. What on earth has gotten into her to think she could be a pseudo hairdresser even for a moment? Now, she just looked stupid.

"I miss my hair..." The scientist gave her cut off strands on the bathroom floor a longing look. Ana placed down the scissors in the sink and began cleaning up the mess she made. Tomorrow, she would be heading to Laboratory Three, was it? For her assignment. Even though she had a side project for a weapon, her first assignment with this Doctor Marcoh was an exclusive study about something she would be briefed on the next day. It sounded important, to her at least, when the Führer emphasized on its creation.

"I wonder," she mused out loud. "Nah, I'll focus on what needs to be done so I could go home." Ana searched for a clock inside her room and found that it was already eight in the evening. Her munchkins would be eating at the Rockbells by now. The thought of how they would have reacted at the news made her wince in grimace. The scientist was definitely not looking forward to it when she phones a call in a few moments. She patted the pockets of her lab coat, hearing the familiar clinks of coins.

To be honest, their reaction terrified her. She loves those two kids like her own and Winry was that one niece who always gets into fight with ome of the brats, specifically Edward. Finally in front of a phone in the military dorm's lobby, she pushed in a few coins and called for the Rockbells home. It took not a few seconds when she heard Granny Pinako on the other line. "About time." There was a huff and it made Ana chuckle a bit. "Sorry, Granny Pinako. I had to move rooms." She paused, a little terrified.

"How did Alphonse and Edward take it?" The pause that followed right after filled her with dread. "Alphonse's sulking but he's taking it in pretty well. Winry wants to say that you should be careful, too." Ana was a about to sigh in relief when she realized something. "What about Edward?" She asked, uncertainty and a slight touch of fear lacing her voice. Granny Pinako sighed on the other line. "He's not talking, at all." The scientist felt a slight prick in her heart then and there.

"Can you give him the phone? I want to say something even if he won't talk."

"Alright."

Ana leaned forehead and lightly smacked her head on the wall, muttering how stupid she was and all that. That garnered a few curious look from her fellow soldiers in the lobby but they promptly ignored her anyway. A slight noise from the other line caught her attention. "What?" Ana blanched upon hearing short and clipped tone of Edward's voice. Instantly, she knew that he wouldn't forgive her so easily. He was that kind of kid, after all. "Edward," he said nothing on the other line.

"I'm sorry, munchkin." Still nothing. "I know I said it would be just a few weeks." Still nothing. "But it would be a while before I can come home to you guys." Still nothing, dammit. "I'll come back, I promise." Still nothing. "I swore that I wouldn't leave, remember? I'll definitely come back no matter what it takes, alright, munchkin?" Still no nothing from him. "Watch after Alphonse, he'll need you right now more so than ever before. I'm sure he'll do the same eve if I don't tell him."

He still gave no response whatsoever. "I love you, Edward," she said. "I love you and Alphonse and Winry and Granny." There was still no fucking reaction. "That's why I'll come back." When there was no reply, Ana leaned her forehead against the wall yet again, waiting for Edward to say something but as she realized the dead noise coming from the phone, her heart sank. Edward had ended the call without saying anything. Ana wanted to hear him curse at her.

She wanted to hear him yell at her ahout how she broke her promise and how he hates her now for that. She wanted to hear him scream and take his anger out on her but— but he didn't. He was silent throughout the call, never uttering a single word, never giving her any kind of reaction. That— that broke her heart. "Ana." Said scientist blinked and found Roy standing across from her, looking at her with wide surprised eyes. "Ah... you're here, Roy." The flame alchemist gave her a weirded and awkward look, not knowing what to do.

He planned on dropping a few take outs to Ana's room since he was sure she would be tired from the moving and all that. Roy didn't expect to see her in the lobby, looking like her whole world just shattered and— _and she was crying_. From the looks of it, she wasn't even aware of the tears that leaked from her eyes. Roy huffed a little before he threw his coat over her head to hide her crying face. "W-What the fuck are you doing—?" she paused. She must have realized the fact that she was, indeed, crying out in the open. "T-There's just dust in my eyes."

Her lame excuse made Roy roll his eyes but he didn't comment. Instead, he grabbed her wrist and led her back to her room. He could hear her sniffle a bit behind him; those choked sobs of hers made him feel bad. Roy didn't know what happened but from the looks of it, she had called her home again and someone must have done something to make her cry. The entire thing made him feel awkward because Roy did not know what to do when a girl cries like that. In fact, he has no idea how to comfort a girl without... you know, leading to that. But Ana was his friend.

A friend he treasures.

He wasn't about to leave her all depressed tonight when she was needed tomorrow at the lab. When he reached her room, he made sure to make her sit on the couch, leaving his coat with her. He prepared the dinner he brought; just rice and spiced fish. Roy sat opposite hers as he waited for her tears to dry. At first, Ana did not seem like the kind of person to cry easily but now, Roy knew better. The way she acted was a lot different from who she really was. Ana was sensitive despite her tough facade and filthy mouth.

It was... unexpected, actually. A few sniffles came from her and not long after, she removed the coat from her head and looked at him. Ana's eyes were a bit swollen and reddish from crying, her eyes still a bit watery from unshed tears. Her nose as well was pinkish alongside her cheeks. "Wha're you doin' here, Roy?" He showed her the plate in his hand, causing her to look at him in surprise. The flame alchemist noticed how her unshed tears went away, a hint of delight flickered in her eyes instead of the sadness he saw a few moments ago.

"I've come bearing a sacrifice." He grinned at her in a rather cheeky way that made his eyes squint, the almost unnoticeable dimples on his cheeks became noticeable due to the lighting in the room, the shadows obvious on his skin. It was a wonder why Roy stopped by her place again when he had been with her all day. Maybe he just really enjoyed Ana's company. Maybe he liked how blunt she was or how he could talk to her about alchemy because he knew no one who could keep up. The other alchemists were busy with their own work, after all.

Roy just... couldn't help himself. "Sacrifice? Is that all?" Ana asked him with a slight curve up on her lips, amusement shining in her eyes. "That's too little to be one, idiot." Roy rolled his eyes at her ungratefulness. She had been in his presence all day, all she could do was say thank you... yet, Roy was contented with what they have. Seeing that she was out of the walls she built, he finally pointed out the one thing that's been bugging him since he saw her downstairs. "What happened to your hair?" The way her eyes widened and cheeks flush made him laugh.

"Stop laughing, Roy!" she shouted in embarrassment while he couldn't help himself. She looked a bit ridiculous with that mess on her head. Of course, he calmed down a few seconds later but he couldn't stop himself from saying, "You cut it yourself, didn't you?" and when he got his answer, he tried to smother in his laughter.

Roy, taking noticed how her eyes seemed a lot brighter than they had been earlier, smiled softly at her.

**oooOooo**

Ana grumbled in dissatisfaction when her alarm rang loudly at five in the morning. It took all that she's got to remove the blanket off her. She even stayed on bed for one whole hour; just looking at the ceiling and thinking of nothing. She just stared at it like a weirdo when someone knocked on her door. "I know you're awake, open the door, Ana." The scientist rolled her eyes and finally got out of bed while a scowl marred her lips. She threw the door open and found Roy glaring down at her in annoyance. "Really? You're still not ready yet?"

When she yawned instead of answering, Roy facepalmed and pushed her back inside. "Get ready, Ana. I'm responsible for you until you get to the lab."

"Can I just get five more minutes to sleep?"

"No."

"What about four?"

"Still no."

"Three?"

"I'm not changing my answer any time soon, stupid."

"Two?"

"Just go take a shower already!"

Ana laughed at his expense when he realized she goaded on him on purpose. Maybe tease was a better term. Roy made himself comfortable on the couch as he waited for his friend to finish getting ready for the day. She was still probably stressed by what happened last night when she called her home. He tried his best to improve her mood yet it wasn't enough. He saw the dark circles marring her eyes, the redness of them causing him to wince. It looked as if she had only gotten an hour's of sleep... at most.

Roy began pondering on the woman called Ana, his friend, while waitimg for her to finish because she was such a brat and everything. The ginger-haired girl, from what he gathered, has a good inclination towards science. Her actions to apprehend a criminal further the Führer's interest in her. It didn't take a genius to know that Ana was a genius in her own right. Roy wasn't sure but he has this feeling that his friend knew alchemy; even though she had never said anything about it at all nor did he even ask in the first place.

Ana was... well, she was weird. He used that word to describe her in the beginning and as he got to know her, Roy dubbed her as eccentric. There was just something about the way she carried herself that made her different from everyone else. The way she took everything in stride without batting an eyelash. Then, there was that one time they walked by the park because she wanted to explore for whatever reason. Roy took note of how she looked at two kids playing with each other and only then he remembered that she herself was looking after a pair of children.

A sudden epiphany hit him. One of those kids must have done something to make her cry because of the situation she found herself in. She loves them with everything she has and would do anything for them yet they failed to see the sacrifice she was making. Roy suddenly felt a bit bitter towards those kids even if he hadn't met them at all. Roy loves his friend just as much as she loves him. He cares for her because she made it easy to be so. He couldn't leave her alone, no matter how much he thought about it.

The click of a doorknob twisting kicked him out of his thoughts. Ana came out of her bedroom, wearing the military uniform. However, instead of the coat, she wore her usual white lab coat over the blue pants and white t-shirt. The military coat was hanging by her arm. "You were so quiet I thought you died of boredom." She commented dryly. Roy snorted at that. "I don't plan on dying any time soon so you're stuck with me for who-knows-how-long."

"Hurray." The dry way she cheered made Roy chuckle as he stood up. "Let's head out."

As the two of them head out, Ana mentioned that there was no way in hell she was taking a car to their destination and that made him look at her exasperation. "It'll take us at least an hour to get there!"

"Then, we better get going, idiot."

Roy guffawed at her in disbelief. What was up with her and cars anyway?

The walk to Laboratory Three was silent... because Roy was busy cursing at Ana and her dislike for cars while the scientist was busy making hypothesis about the main research going on and why it was so importamt that the Führer emphasized on it. "Ana," Roy started with a curious tone. "Can you use alchemy?" Because he knew that she knows about what and how alchemy is used, he was curious if she could perform it herself. "Well, yeah, the munchkins—" she stopped for a second before resuming. "— taught me the basics. They're pretty talented themselves."

"And this munchkins?"

"I meant the kids I'm looking after. I, uh, call them munchkins because they're cute."

Roy chuckled. "So they're a natural at it, huh?"

"That's right. Those brats are pretty talented in the arts of Alchemy. I'm not sure if they plan on being State Alchemist— which I hope not for obvious reasons— but if they do plan on it, I'll be proud of them no matter what. They were five and four when they started self-teaching themselves about it, after all." Roy blinked in surprise at this. Talented was an understatement. "It would be great if they could be your subordinates though."

"And not yours?" He raised an inwuisitive eyebrow at her. She simply chuckled at that. "Not mine. I don't plan on associating myself with the military any further. I wouldn't mind staying friends with you, though, Roy." Said flame alchemist gave her quite the cheeky grin. "You love me, just admit it." She rolled her eyes in a palyful manner in response. "Do not push it, moron." He threw his hands up in surrender. "Just kidding." he told her.

Soon enough, they reached the Third Laboratory and parted ways but not before they insulted each other first. Ana eyed the building in front of her with an obvious frown, the ominous feeling she got from the establishment sent shivers down her spine. For now, she was aware how things were about to take a drastic turn and how the world would test her morals. She knew being a part of the military was a bad idea but she needed to, to keep her little brats safe from harm.

"Let's just get this over with..." she mutters under her breath.


	5. chapter 5

_Why_

..?

He failed to understand.

_Just why_..?

The sight he saw in the field stunned him into freezing.

_Why_..?

The time he spent fighting in this war made him see the true nature of humans. He might not have been a hundred percent certain but he knew enough to judge his own kind. Blood dyed the earth a murky red, the scent of decaying corpses lingered in the air. The breeze carried it all over, just catching a whiff of it was enough to send someone hurling over in disgust. He hoped it would stop; the mindless killing, the pile of corpses that failed to cease in numbers.

However, the moment that the Führer sent the orders for State Alchemists to join in the war— no, rather, it was a one-sided massacre. The enemies, from the beginning, held not a candle against Amestrians. They were helpless and— this war failed to make sense. Roy forgot what they were even fighting for. The reason why this merciless killing kept going on. Innocent people got dragged into it, their blood raining in a battlefield where it just did not belong.

It felt wrong.

The State Alchemists got deployed, him included, and began the eradication of the Ishvalans. It was enough. They were enough. Hell, Roy alone could have done the same damage given enough time so why, he asked himself. Why was that person in the battlefield? Fighting alongside the State Alchemists when she was a simple _scientist_? She didn't belong here. This wasn't her specialty. She wasn't meant to be a _weapon_. Roy was supposed to come home after this war, with her waiting for him back at their usual place, resigning from her position and leaving behind the biological weapon she was forced to make.

Instead of that, Roy watched her utilize her own creation in the field; killing almost every Ishvalans in the vicinity. It took no less than a minute before their enemies dropped dead on the ground. Julliana Hong had _killed_ and it looked so wrong in his eyes. Roy let out a carefully controlled stream of flames when he saw an Ishvalan charging from Ana's blindspot. The scent of burning flesh made him grimace and Roy noticed how green Ana looked in his place.

He approached her, pulling her close to him. "Roy—"

"It's okay."

"I can't—"

"Let me."

The sound of explosion echoed in the battlefield, the waves of heat reaching far across the land. The Flame Alchemist was _furious_. The rage he felt, he couldn't even explain it. Roy made eye contact with Riza Hawkeye, who nodded and watched their backs; her sharp eyes seeing minute movements in all this chaos. The woman in his arms kept trembling, and he felt his shirt get wet. Crying might have been out of place amidst the war but she was no soldier, she was no killer. Ana was just a scientist and his friend who he treasured greatly.

"Roy, don't—"

"Just let _me_."

"Please—"

Without warning, Ana stepped back away from him. Her tears long gone yet it left evidence in her eyes how all of this took its toll on her. The Flame Alchemist narrowed his eyes, his fingers twitching to snap and produce the flames that burned and scorched the earth. "Ana, stop right now—"

Yet, the scientist— now, alchemist— clapped her hands together, the alchemic circle tattooed on the back of her hands glowed a dusk orange, lightning crackling in the air. Almost everyone stopped in the area, as they witness every Ishvalan dropping dead like flies one by one with no obvious injuries. Roy's breath hitched to a stop as another river of tears streamed out of her eyes and fell on the scorched earth under her.

"Stop killing, Roy."

And it seemed that he wasn't the only one doing the protecting. But it was wrong; it was so _wrongwrong**wrong**_— this wasn't the Ana he had gotten to know. This wasn't the Ana who can be tough and be delicate at the same time. This wasn't the Ana who kicked the shit out of that one criminal and apprehended that guy easily when they first met. No, this wasn't the person Roy had come to know. _This war,_ he gritted his teeth, fury swirling in those deep abyss of his eyes. _Is meaningless._

"Ana—!" a hand stopped him. Riza looked at him in the eyes, her sniper at the ready beside her. "This area is clear. Move on to the next one." he felt conflicted. He didn't want to leave Ana by herself but the look his friend gave him made Roy sigh in defeat. The blonde sniper smiled at him, her features softening at his inner turmoil. "I'll handle her. Go." The Flame Alchemist glanced at Ana one last time before he moved on to the next area. Riza was right. They were still at war and his prowess in his flame alchemy was needed in the field.

As he left, Riza turned back to look at her new friend, someone who Roy had been talking about for a while now. Every time they met up, the alchemist couldn't stop talking about that strange woman who captured a criminal with ease. Even though Roy had repeated that story over and over again, Riza didn't believe a word he said until he told her that this Ana would be working for the military.

"Julliana."

No response came from the unmoving girl in front of her. With careful steps, Riza approached her and noticed how Ana's body trembled the slightest bit. To the untrained eyes, one wouldn't be able to tell but Riza's sight was by far the best there is. She reached out a steady hand for Ana's trembling ones, the blonde's own warmth spreading through the scientist's freezing fingers. "Ana," Riza uttered her name at last, causing the frozen woman to jolt out of her stupor. "We have to move."

"I... I can't—"

"You have done more than enough, Ana," the blonde sniper breathed out, tracing circles on her knuckles to keep the scientist focused. "Let me and the Major handle the rest." Hesitance glinted in her eyes yet the ginger head tightened her own grip around the blonde's hand. Riza smiled at this, tugging at her friend's arm in a soft manner as she led the both of them back to the nearest camp. Roy should have already gotten to the next area and Riza, for the first time, felt relief wash over her.

There were no sounds of explosions or the heat of flames. That would mean that the next area should have already been cleared before the Flame Alchemist got there. _The less death he causes, the better._ Riza soon saw the tents of their camp. "Hurry." The blonde made sure that her friend followed and led her inside, a couple of enlisted men were being treated at one corner while someone worked on the communications on the other side.

As the sniper guided her friend to sit on one of the many crates, she observed the effects of hair that was visible on Ana's face. The dark rings circling her eyes became prominent ever since this morning when she arrived in the battlefield. Riza remembered the few times they met up and the rings had already been there but not as visible as it was today. The indication of that caused a frown to curl down on her lips. Exhaustion painted Ana's features with such vividness that everyone could tell how this war weighed on a civilian's shoulders.

Riza placed down her weapon beside her, pulling out a dirtied handkerchief from her back pocket and handing it over to the traumatized woman. "Wipe yourself," she held the ginger head's hands tightly. "And stay here. You've done all you could. Leave the rest to us." As the sniper picked up her weapon and prepared herself to leave, the weak and defeated voice that belonged to none other than Ana stopped her before she stepped foot out of the tent.

"I... I _killed_ them..." the blonde sniper's fingers curled tightly around the handle of her weapon. That heavy lacing every word was like a bullet straight to her heart. "They were innocent and I fucking killed them..." flashes of her victim's faces popped up in her mind and Riza's breath hitched when her memories stopped at the face of an Ishvalan child. "All of those people... _dead... murdered because I was ordered to.._." from where she stood, Riza heard the silent sobs that came from her friend.

"What... What the fuck does that make me... I... I didn't... why are we at war... there's no winner in this battle, at all... I made a virus that kills the _nerves_, Riza... no one knows but I do... the people I kill don't die an instant death. They feel every single nerve being fried from their ends until it fries their brain," a shaky and almost psychotic laughter escaped Ana's lips, one that sent shivers down Riza's spine. "I don't... why the fuck did I make, Riza? Why the fuck did I do what I did? For what? This country? Because the Führer _ordered_ me to?"

Even without turning around, the blonde knew that Ana's lips curved upwards in bitterness. "I don't know who I am anymore. I just feel like shit ever since I got stuck with the military. And even when I want to end all of this, the faces of my munchkins would pop up in my head and I fucking hate it. God, I'm too soft for those three. I want to see them, Riza. How ironic, isn't it?" the sniper said nothing and let the noise around them fill in the silence between the two.

To be frank, Riza didn't really know half of what her friend felt right now and she didn't try to understand. But she knew one thing about the way Ana was acting and Riza disliked every bit of it. "Are you giving up now," the sniper asked, her voice steady and firm, as she turned around at last to look at Ana straight in the eyes with a stern gaze. "When you still have people waiting for your return?" Another silent ambience appeared between them but Riza didn't wait for an answer; no, she already wasted enough time here.

"And stay here. The Major and I will be coming home soon enough, wait for us back home." With a final click of her sniper rifle's safety, the blonde marched back into the battlefield. This time, she decided on a new objective. Survive and go home instantly to Ana's side. Because all of them were just broken pieces of a fragile glass and they needed each other to fix up the broken fragments of themselves; to put back the pieces they lost before this war took its toll on them.

Ana sat there on the crate with that same bitter smile marring her face. If her munchinks were here, they would tease her about the lines appearing far too often on her face and tell her how old she was getting. No matter how annoying they could be, Ana loved every single part that made them who they are. The scientist missed being a part of their little study back in that courtyard; doing nothing but learning about alchemy all day long. Winry would come and try to get them to do something aside from the Science all three of them dabble in.

That kind of repetitive and slow-going days brought back a nostalgic part of her past when she still had her own brother. Whenever she caught herself being lost in her memories, her munchkins would stop whatever they were doing and talked nonstop about some things. Maybe they knew that something bothered her or maybe it was because her eyes would sting when that happens; those kids just knew what to do to lift her spirits up. The onslaught of feelings and memories reminded her of the reason why she took the Führer's offer. She could have denied him of what he wanted; she didn't care if she was the enemy of the state.

The scientist handled herself better than most of the soldiers the military has to offer, anyway. What made her agreed was not because of Führer Bradley's threat; no, he made a good point. The war would have reached Resembool if it goes on and that place... that place was Ana's treasured _home_. Auntie Trisha had given her that and Ana would be damned if she let anything happen when she could do something. So she ended up here; using her own biological weapon utilized by alchemy to stop this war from spreading more.

However, she asked herself, "Was it worth it," because from what she saw, her actions did nothing but brew hatred in the hearts of the remaining Ishvalans. Innocents were killed in the crossfire of her alchemy; civilians murdered by the weapon she made. She asked herself, "Since when have I become a soldier," because she was a scientist first and foremost. A person who dabbled in science to better the world they live in. An alchemist a second. It widened the possibilities she thought she could never see.

But a soldier?

She never wanted to be a soldier.

Why did things come to this?

"M-Major Hong?" a timid voice called out to her. Ana lifted her head and glanced at Private Fuery who saluted at her look. "An order from HQ just arrived," he paused, as if thinking whether or not he should tell her. "They want you to head—" Ana cut him off by standing on her own two foot, startling the poor meek communication techie. "Tell them I'm heading there now. This area's been cleared so the rest of you follow as well."

"Understood!"

A sigh left Ana's lips as she walked out, the clanking chains of her pocket watch caused her eyes to trail down her waist. The glaring light reflected off the surface made her squint but it reminded her of the duties that threw all her principles away. She was a dog of the military and if she wanted to live, their orders came first and her priorities second. There was no running away, she noted unamused to herself, from the military from this point on. Even if she did, they would be after her every second of the day because of that fast-acting virus she created.

If she was the bad kind of person, she could have killed the Führer and everyone else by using it. She wasn't though and by the end of this war, she would destroy all research paoers, all the documents, and all sample and final products. No one should have that kind of knowledge that coukd threaten the entirety of Amestries, the world even.

By the time she was outside and heading West, the scent of burning and charred flesh hit her senses; accompanied by the metallic scent of blood that rained down on earth. Corpses of Ishvalans and Amestrians alike littered the battlefield. Some of them have eyes wide open in terror; she could see the devastating effects of this war not on the living but also the dead. They didn't plan on going to war; she didn't plan killing when she got here on this continent.

When she heard the sound of a loud explosion in the distance, she hurried her footsteps. The scent of charred flesh became prominent the closer she got and from where she was, she heard the screams that would haunt her every night for the rest of her life. She stumbled upon the sight of Ishvalans charging towards her friends and a few soldiers that followed their lead. Ana prepared her hands before she froze; her eyes seeing a family of civilians hiding behind a rock formation from her her elevated position.

"Shit." she cursed under her breath, her arms lowered themselves in defeat. Her new resolve shattered just by seeing another innocent lives amidst the chaos they didn't belong in. _I'm gonna get fucking killed for the shit I'm about to do._ Ana slid down the miniature hill she was on, making sure she didn't attract any attention from both Ishvalan warriors and Amestrian soldiers. It took her nocless than five minutes to arrive at the hiding place the civilians she saw from earlier hid in. One of them caught sight of her and was about to scream for helo when Ana shook her head, placing a finger in front of her lips.

The Ishvalans saw the transmutation circle on her hand and clamped quite fast; afraid of what will hapoen to them in the hands of a State Alchemist. "It's okay," Ana hushed when a child— a fucking child, goddammit— whimpered under her stare. "The area east to here is clear, and my camp will be moving shortly. We have to move fast if we don't want to get caught by them." It took the elder of the group to understand what Ana meant and the scientist didn't even fault the elderly woman when she received a scathing suspicious glare.

"Why must we follow an alchemist like yourself? _You_ killed our people." Her breath hitched at the accusing tone but Ana couldn't deny the truth. Her silence unnderved the Ishvalans so she took a deep breath and looked straight into the elder's eyes. "I don't know what kind of answer you're expecting me to give you but I'm giving you a way out. You don't have to trust me," the scientist admitted. "It's up to you if you want to live or not." A moment of silence arose between them before the elder's lips curved down.

"Please." With that, Ana nodded. "Follow me."

**oooOooo**

War destroy the lives of many.

No one comes out victorious as both sides spilled blood and lost lives. One side more so than the other but it doesn't change the fact that they all lost someone precious to them.

**oooOooo**

Edward glanced at the horizon as he sat in front of their home. "Three long years, huh..." he muttered under his breath, bringing up his knees close to his chest. The blond hugged his legs and rested his chin on his knees. He waited for a familiar color of orange to peak over that hill; a voice almost resembling their mother's would greet him and Alphonse and the both of them would see that toothy smile their big sis would always give them. He missed hearing his nickname coming from her voice and even if that nickname annoyed him; it didn't change the fact that he longed to hear it.

Their big sis would send a letter sometimes but never did she call after that one time he hanged up on her. Edward had been so furious that time. Big sis Ana _promised_ that she wouldn't leave them and then she had gone and left. "I miss you, big sis..." he breathed out. The soft creaking of the front door behind him reached his ears but Edward refused to tear his gaze away from the horizon. "Big brother, it's lunch time." The blind felt the earth beside him shift a little as Alphonse took a seat beside him. "Big sis Ana would be scolding you by now if you don't go to the kitchen, you know?"

A dry chuckle left Edward as he glanced at his younger brother. "I remember that. I was busy reading in the study. I heard big sis calling for me but I didn't budge. She had to come amd get me herself." Alphonse's lios curved up slightly at the memory. "She dragged you by the ear, big brother." The older Elric winced and remembered exactly how painful that had been. He reached up and caressed the ear their big sis dragged him by. "Yeah, that really hurt. I didn't even know she was that strong."

Alphonse threw his sibling an amused look. "Big sis Ana carried at least three bags of groceries filled with meat and vegetables. She also does the laundry by hand and runs in the morning. I'm not surprised she's strong." Edward perked up at his brother's words, giving the darker blond a strange look. "Big sis runs in the morning?" Laughter escaped Alphonse's lips which made Edward pout in response. "Yup! You've never seen her cause you always sleep in, big brother."

The older Elric let out a soft 'huh' under his breath as he continued his gaze on the horizon. "We don't know much about her, do we?" Alphonse threw his brother a curious look. "What do you mean?" A soft breeze brushed pass them in the silence, the comfor their home provided filled it the quiet between them. Edward pointed out something that neither of them truly thought about. For them, Julliana Hong was their big sis and that was that.

"Big sis never told us about the place she was born in or her previous home. Sure, she told us about her brother and the trouble they get into and that she was a traveler when we first met her, remember?" Edward straightened his legs before he decided to give up waiting for a familiar shade of orange to appear in the horizon as he laid down on his back with arms propped up behind his head. "She never said where her home was, what it looked like, if she still had people waiting for her; when we talked, it was always about Alchemy and Science," he paused for a bit.

"I'm just wondering if we really knew something about big sis."

That made Alphonse silent as he pondered on the words his brother said. "She hates string beans," he started which caused Edward to look at his younger brother in confusion. "But she likes eating raw red pepper... which I don't really understand how she could eat them." Soft wisps of clouds appeared in the horizon as Alphonse continued. "Big sis likes the cold and hates summer but she loves cloudy days the most because she mentioned it being just the right temperature."

"She likes the color yellow," Edward added in as he realized what Alphonse seemed to be getting at. "And has some sort of agenda with the color brown, for some odd reason. She likes to curse—"

"— but doesn't really curse around us—" Alphonse said with a laugh.

"—yeah," the same sound came from Edward at that fact. "And doesn't mind when people belittle her. She'll just sock them in the face to prove her worth. She helped better Resembool's agriculture. Big sis worries over small things."

"Like that one time I tripped and a loose piece of nail cut my leg. It wasn't even bleeding, just a surface wound but it did turn a nasty shade of red."

"She almost mauled old man Liam when she asked us where you got it."

The Elric siblings bursted into laughter in unison as they remembered the comically horrified expression of old man Liam when the scientist marched into his lands and scolded him about proper maintenance for his fences. Alphonse almost couldn't calm her down at the time. "See?" the younger Elric asked, making Edward pause. "We know a lot about her. You don't have to worry, big brother. I'm sure she doesn't hate you." the blatant admittance caught Edward off guard and he threw his brother a surprised look.

"That's what you're worried about, isn't it?" Alphonse inquired with a soft smile painting his features. "Big sis isn't the type of person who would hold a grudge, big brother. I'm sure she's aware that you only acted that way because it was anger speaking, not you. She loves us," the younger Elric's voice broke, tears beginning to sting his eyes. "And... And she promised to come home. She hasn't broken a promise yet. I'm sure... sure she wouldn't break this one now." Silent sobs made his body tremble. "I miss her, big brother."

"... me, too, Al. Me, too."

The glaring hole that her absence left behind stood out in the silence that appeared between the siblings. Their home didn't feel like their home anymore without her with them. They missed the way she would scold them for their stupidty, they missed the way she would yell for them when food is ready but most of all, they missed the way she would say how much she loves them every night when they head to bed and how she would look after them for as long as they would let her.

Julliana Hong was their only lifeline and if something were to happen, the Elric siblings were bound to do something stupid.

**oooOooo**

"I'm sorry... we don't know what happened... at the end of the war, she's gone missing. No one knows what happened. We're still on the lookout, I assure you, Ms. Rockbell."

Edward, Alphonse, and Winry stared at the bringer of news with horror in their eyes. They couldn't believe what the soldier in front of them was saying. Pinako Rockbell hummed in distraught, the news itself changed the jolly atmosphere in their home. That morning, all of them had been ecstatic to hear that war had come to an end. All that fighting, all of those killing; done and over with. Ana would finally go home, she would hug them all at the same time, and tell them how much she missed her little munchkins.

Why did it turn out this way..?

"Thank you... for telling us." the soldier saluted and left.

"What... she was supposed to be here by now..." Edward whispered in disbelief. "She promised! She _promised_, dammit!"

"Edward—" Pinako tried to talk to the blond but he ran out in tears. She turned to Winry and Alphonse who seemed to be frozen in place.

_Ana... where are you?_

* * *

**Author's Note**

Reviews are really, really appreciated! Please tell me what you think! Or well, whatever comment you guys may have XD I just really love FMA so I had thisburge to write this fanfic.


	6. chapter 6

"Lieutenant Colonel."

No response.

"_Lieutenant Colonel."_

When she didn't get any reaction from him, Riza frowned in response. She had been trying to get her friend to talk ever since things calmed down after the war. Amestris succeeded and won against the Ishvalans. At the time she separated from Ana, Riza went on ahead and backed up Roy in the fileld. It seemed Ana had listened to her that day; the scientist hadn't come and that relieved her and Roy more than she thought at first. Julliana Hong became an important person in their life and it surprised Riza; especially when she knew her trust couldn't be earned with ease.

"Roy!" the door to the Flame Alchemist's brand new office in Central slammed open and revealed a jolly Maes Hughes who walked in like he owned the room. "I haven't seen you in ages!" the bespectacled officer stopped his eccentricities when he noticed the sullen atmosphere in the office. Both Riza and Roy didn't even look at their guest who barged in all so sudden in the alchemist's office. "Did I miss something..?"

Roy clenched his hands into fists at the question. He never did manage to introduce his friend to Maes, did he? "Second Lieutenant, if you please." Riza saluted and walked pass Maes who she nodded to and closed the door behind her as she left. The sudden click of the locked door then cause Maes to look at his best friend with a frown, taking a sit on the desk behind him. The alchemist tried to form some words, thinking of what he should say but the pain was still fresh. On top of everything he did in the war, the news he received from Private Fuery took the cake.

"Remember that person I told you about..?" the sudden confusion on Maes' face was apparent, and Roy knew that he was wondering why that would be of concern. "The one that got scouted by Führer himself you mean?" The alchemist winced at that but nodded nonetheless. "Yes, that one. I've been meaning to introduce her to you." The way Maes' eyes widened in delight just broke Roy's heart further. "I can finally meet the girl who caught your attention?!"

"I—" Roy breathed out shakily. "— that's the thing. She's been MIA in the last few weeks of the war." Realization flashed in his friend's eyes and to acknowledge that fact; the fact that Ana was missing brought a dirty taste in his mouth. The last he saw of her, she barely kept herself together. He remembered the way her body trembled in his arms, the tears that soaked his tattered shirt, and the sound of her hands clapping for her transmutation. She had killed so that his kills— his own kills wouldn't pile up right after one another.

The Flame Alchemist didn't even know who took more lives between the two of them. She had a weapon of devastating consequences in her hands and by utilizing her understanding of elemental alchemy— particularly gases— and energy; she was a force to be reckoned with. Ana cleared several areas in the East alone and she didn't even need backup. "Roy..." Maes' voice pulled him out of his thoughts and the sharp-eyed alchemist glanced up at his friend.

"I'll do everything I can, then." The grin that showed up on his friend's face startled Roy; that face full of hope made his heart ache. "I'll definitely find her. I can't call myself an investigator if I can't find a missing person, now, can I?" Still, that hope in Maes would be the only thing he would be able to cling to at the moment. The stress lines on Roy's face softened out as a soft smile curved up on his lips. "Thank you, Hughes. It... means a lot."

The bespectacled Major smiled at Rot's expression; even the alchemist knew he rarely shows that kind of face. What could he say? Ana was someone who was important to him and Roy would search every crook and cranny of this continent until he finds her. Ana wasn't a person who would die easily or disappear for now reason, at all. Something must have happened when she stayed behind at camp. "Well, what can I say? I want to see my best friend married and all."

It took a moment but when Roy realized what Maes just said, he choked on his own saliva. The alchemist had to pat his chest in shock. "Y-You— we're nothing like that!" Maes shrugged his shoulders and gave him a teasing grin. "From what you tell me about her— and from what I hear from Riza— it doesn't sound like you're just friends, Roy." Said alchemist hid behind his hands.

_Ana and I... we're not like that, stupid Hughes! What is he even saying?!_

**oooOooo**

A few months passed by after the war ended and a new year had began just a few days ago. Roy had been busy to think about anything outside of anything that didn't involve the military. In addition, he had been busy gathering people for his team. At the moment, the people he handpicked met his standard. All of them possessed unique traits and a diversity he aimed for when he planned on making his own team.

"Lieutenant Colonel, a letter has arrived." Roy glanced up from the documents he was working on upon the arrival of Riza Hawkeye, reaching out a letter in her hands. He raised an eyebrow but the sniper said nothing. The blonde simply handed him the letter and resumed back to her work. The alchemist eyed the envelope on his desk before he picked it up and ripped the envelope open. When he pulled out the letter, Roy almost lost his composure when he saw who the letter was actually addressed to.

"'To Julliana Hong‚' huh?" he voiced out his confusion. Unknown to him, his newly-formed team perked up at the name. Roy unfolded the letter, his eyes skimming over the contents before his breath hitched to a stop.

_If you're reading this, Roy, that means something happened to me._

A snort left Roy at that but the incredulity of this letter just confused him further.

_And I don't trust the military. Never have. Never will. I addressed this letter to myself and in the 'off chance I wasn't in,' this letter would be delivered to you. I'm not dead; I have too much to do to get killed easily so stop being a little shit and stop mourning. I'll beat the shit out of you if I find out you're mourning when I'm not even dead._

Roy blinked at that. The uncanny way she predicted his reaction served to make him uncomfortable in his own skin. Ana could be scary sometimes; Roy just didn't know the extent of it.

_I just want to ask a favor, just one, but I'm hoping you could do it. Well, considering the lazy bastard you could be at times, I wouldn't be surprised if you held off this favor of mine. It's not urgent; I just want you to check on my munchkins when you have time. They'll be worried and they might do something stupid; especially those Elric brothers. Remember them? The kids I'm looking after? Just drop by every so often, check what they're doing, if they're doing alright and the likes. If they need money, could you lend them some? I swear I'll pay you back_.

The remnants of a word 'sike' at the end caused another snort to leave Roy's throat.

_And Roy, please make sure they don't do something stupid. They're brilliant alchemists but they're still children. I'm scared that they might do something they'll regret. Oh, and don't tell anyone about this letter, yeah? Burn this after you finish reading. I'll miss you being the little shit you could be sometimes_.

And that was that.

The Flame Alchemist felt the eyes of his subordinates as he slipped on one of his ignition gloves, the letter and envelope trapped between his thumb and fore finger in his other hand. Roy eyed the handwriting before he snapped his fingers and the letter bursted into flames; leaving nothing but dark ashes. The alchemist looked uo from his desk and found his team— aside for Riza— staring at him with wide eyes. He raised an eyebrow at them. "What?"

"You just..." Fuery started, a bit unsure.

"Burned a letter just like that?" Falman added.

"Was it a love letter?" Jean inquired.

"I don't think that's the case." Breda stated as he flipped through the file in his hands.

Roy felt a vein pop at their nosiness. "Really, Havoc? A love letter?" the blond man shrugged his shoulders in response and resumed his work. "You look like a guy who receives that kinda stuff. I feel sorry for the girl who sent that to you though, being burned just like that." The Flame Alchemist sense an incoming migraine at Jean's words. "That letter—" Fuery suddenly spoke up. "— was it from Major Hong?" The techie was suddenly the center of attention and it caused him to squeak in surprise.

Roy froze for just a fraction of a second but it went unnoticed among his team. "No, unfortunately," he managed to say without stuttering. "It would have been best if that was the case."

An unasked question lingered in the air to those who didn't know Major Hong personally; who was she?

The alchemist blinked and ignored the tension in the air; he didn't want to talk about it anymore. In fact, even if he knew that Ana was alive somewhere out the there, the fact that she wasn't here with him and Riza worried him. He thought that once the war was over, the three of them would unwind down together and Roy could finally introduce Ana to Maes. His best friend had been looking forward to it. It seemed that it would be a while before that happens, however.

The sniper glanced up from the file she had been reading to take a peek at her friend and commander. From her eyes, Riza saw the tension in his shoulders lessened when he read the letter. That was good, at least, since the blonde knew that the idiot wouldn't function well if he was way too worried about everything. Whatever it was the letter said, Riza could only hope that it concerned their missing friend.

**oooOooo**

Edward huffed as he placed down a metallic basin at the center of a transmutation circle he had worked on in their basement. A few days more and preparation would be done. "Big brother, granny's calling us for lunch!" Alphonse called from upstairs. "Coming!" The blond dusted himself off dust and ran upstairs. He saw his brother by the front door and Edward grinned as he reached Alphonse's side. "Just a few more days, Al, and we'll be ready!"

The both of them started making their way to the Rockbell home. The older blond's words stirred uneasiness inside Alphonse whose lips curved down into a frown. "Is this really okay? I mean, there's a reason why it's taboo, big brother. I don't think big sis would be happy if she finds out. What if we fail? What happens—" he was cut off by a snort from the older Elric. "Sheesh, Al, you worry too much. I plan on triple checking our formula before we perform it. But I'm sure I've got everything down perfectly."

The young boy still couldn't shake off that queasy feeling bubbling in the pit of his stomach. "Besides," he perked up when he heard Edward sneering. "Why do you care what she thinks? It's not like she's here anyway so we can do what we want to do without getting scolded." The bitterness in the elder sibling's voice was apparent and silence brewed between the two of them. Alphonse didn't understand why his brother seemed to hate their big sis all of a sudden. It wasn't like she left them on her own accord, right?

That soldier said she'd gone MIA and Alphonse was sure that it meant that she went missing during the war not because she abandoned her post but because something happened to her. The young Elric just didn't understand why his brother felt that way but he wasn't about to get into an argument with him. If they were successful with their plan, then their mom could help them look for big sis Ana and it'll be like the old days again.

Still, what changed?

Alphonse missed the days when they didn't have to worry about anything. "I hope it works..." he muttered out of the blue. "Of course it will," Edward declared in confidence— rather, the younger sibling couldn't help but call it arrogance. "We checked just about everything. We're not going to fail, Al. There's no way we could."

The following days were spent prepping for the taboo they were about to perform. On the ninth day, the Elric brothers were finished. All that's left was activating the transmutation circle.

"You ready, Al?"

Hesitation flashed in his eyes for a second before his resolve hardened. "I'm ready." The both of them pricked their fingers and let a drop of blood splatter on the ingredients in the basin. The sound echoed in the silence and even heard despite the raging storm outside. Alphonse gulped as he readied himself. That tightness in his stomach was still there, as if telling him not to go with this nonsense any further. But he already decided, Alphonse would do this with his brother.

In the silence, the both of them slammed their hands on the edge of the chalk-drawn circle. Bright golden light glowed in the darkness and the same colored lightning crackled in the night.

They were performing human transmutation and they were sure that everything would go well...

... or so they thought.

Meanwhile in the roads leading to the Elric home, a car drove in the muddy path; the driver frowned as the storm fogged up the mirror in front of her. It was always such a pain driving in this kind of weather and that prompted a question she wanted to ask ever since they left Central. "Lieutenant Colonel, why are we visiting today?" Riza Hawkeye asked her commanding officer, whose attention focused outside. "A feeling, you could say. That and I heard those kids are gaining quite the reputation. Genius alchemists from what I heard."

Riza blinked at that. "She already told us that, remember? So why now?"

The Flame Alchemist sighed and turned his gaze to look at Riza through the car mirror. "A feeling."

"That doesn't answer much."

It took longer than expected; for such a rural place, Resembool seemed a lot larger than they expected at first. Up a hill, they found the house that they planned to visit. Roy put on his cloak and left the comfort of the car and headed straight for the door. He barely noticed Riza following after him. He knocked on the door, rather loudly because of the storm. "Edward Elric! Open up!" But no matter how loud he was, no one answered.

Dread filled the pit of his stomach. He shared a look of worry with Riza as he decided to break down the door. Even then, no one came in a rush to see the commotion. The alchemist marched inside, the tension making his gait stiffer in anxiety. He slammed every door but found not one blond kid. There was still one room left he hadn't checked and when Roy went downstairs, the monstrous sight that greeted the alchemist left him nauseous.

A humanoid creature— whose body resembled a rotting corpse— laid at the center of a transmutation cirlce— a human transmutation circle. His breath hitched to a stop, his sharp eyes focusing on the puddle of blood at the other end of the room. "Those kids—!" She was right, Roy noted with a grimace. He should have checked on her kids a lot sooner; he shouldn't have waited for this 'feeling' he had that morning. The Lt. Colonel rushed outside, walking passed Riza who followed right after him.

"The Rockbell's. We're going there." Roy could tell that the sniper had questions but reigned those in. As he sat in the car, the gravity of the situation settled in at last. Those brothers committed taboo; they committed something incredibly foolish that would have them on death sentence. A hand raised to caress his face in dread. From what he knew, performing human transmutation would end in a rebound.

There was a reason why it was forbidden because there had been no record of an alchemist successfully performing one. And the consequences that followed led to unimaginable punishment to the alchemist. It didn't take them long to reach the Rockbell home. Roy braved the raging storm and opened the front door without warning. A short old woman, a blonde girl, and a suit of armor greeted him in the living room. "You are? It's rude barging in someone's home even for a soldier like you."

The aged woman stared at him blankly behind those round glasses and Roy spared no time, only pulling out his pocket watch that told her his status. "Where are they?"

"'They,' you say?"

"Ana's kids."

Metal clanged from the corner and the suit of armor _moved_, much to the alchemist's bewilderment. "You... You know our big sis..?" a child's voice echoed from the armor and the hurt and longing that Roy heard broke his heart. The soldier stood his ground, saying nothing. He uttered not a single word and this prompted the armor to take another step. "Do you... do you know where she is..?" this time, Roy stared at the metal suit, his eyes hardened as if he was back in that battlefield.

"We saw that thing in your basement," the armor flinched at his words. "And Ana told me that you might do something foolish such as this." An exasperated sigh escaped his lips, the tension in his shoulderd disappearing as he relented. Roy knew he was, at some point, at fault here. Ana had warned him yet he still came to check on them far too late. "I've heard word of your prowess... and the military have been searchiny for Hoenheim for a long time as well."

Roy admitted his intentions. "We still don't know where their father is," Pinako Rockbell intervened, a frown set on her lips. "There are hurt peoole here. Go away." There was a minute of silence before the Flame Alchemist managed to blurt out the words in his mind. "If they have performed human transmutation and were able to escape with their lives, then I am more interested in then than their father." The diminutive mechanic's lips curved down some more, not liking where this was going.

"And what of Ana? You seem to know her."

"She's... a close friend of mine." Alphonse perked up at this, his glowing eyes shining just a tad bit brighter. "She trusted me to check up on her kids. Hoenheim might've been a goal of my visit here but that is my intention of visiting the brothers. I'm too late, as you've noticed." The young Elric stepped up, his feet clanging at that one action. "Do you know what happened to her?"

"I'm afraid not. We're still on the lookout for any sightings of her." The news made Alphonse's eyes go dim in sadness. Roy glanced at Alphonse and then at the child resting on the couch. Several thoughts ran through his mind before he arrived to a conclusion which would lead to his death in the future. "I am State Alchemist Lt. Col. Roy Mustang," he suddenly said in the silence. "Come pay a visit to Central. You'll make fine State Alchemist yourselves."

With that, he turned around and left, his eyes lingering on the brothers a second too long that Pinako noticed his stare as he closed the door behind him.

**oooOooo**

Alphonse stared at the night sky, no clouds in sight. With the storm passing and all that has happened in the past hours, his mind ran a mile a minute. It wasn't like he could sleep either. He noticed that a while ago when he felt no physical exhaustion and Alphonse concluded that with this new body of his, all fundamental requirements of a human body were no longer required for this one. And without sleep, he would be up all night for as long as he was in this armor.

An ocean of stars shined in the darkness of the sky as his thoughts wandered back to that State Alchemist that visited a few hours ago. He had mentioned their big sis Ana, even said that they were close friends, but the fact that he didn't know what happened to her made him disappointed. "I wonder where she is... big sis would probably kill us if she finds out what happened..."

"Al?" the armor jolted a bit in surprise, startled at the sound of Winry's voice. His friend sat down beside him. "Are you thinking about her?" The question made his shoulders sag. "Yeah... the Lt. Colonel never mentioned a possibility of her death... so I'm sure she's still out there somewhere. Big sis is too stubborn to be bested by someone. She's a lot like big brother in that sense. If it weren't for her different hair color, everyone would think that big sis had been a part of our family since the beginning."

Winry laughed a little and joined the young Elric in stargazing. "You're right... I'm actually more worried about what she'll do to you guys." the blinde girl admitted. Her words made Alphonse shake in terror. "I don't want to think about that much." The young mechanic smiled in a soft manner, reaching out to hold onto Alphonse's cold knee. "I'm sure she wouldn't hurt you guys," she paused before looking away with a nervous smile. "Too much, anyway."

"Hey, Winry?"

"Yeah?"

"... what do you think she's doing right now?"

The mechanic hummed, deep in thought as she answered with a,"Probably doing the best she can to come back home. Ed said she promised, right? And big sis Ana doesn't break her promises. She'll definitely come home."

"Yeah," Alphonse would have smiled at that notion. "You're right. She'll probably cuss out whoever and whatever it is that's keeping her from coming home."

"Imagine if a guy has her. I feel sorry for him."

"Ouch."

The both of them bursted into laughter. In that moment, they were glad to have something to laugh about, the heaviness on their shoulder disappearing in that fraction of time.

**oooOooo**

"All her research?!"

The news that greeted him prompted Roy to yell at the poor messenger, who trembled under the weight of his glare. "Y-Yes, sir! The cause hasn't been discovered yet and the fire had been put out before it could spread in the lab, sir!" Without even dismissing the poor bringer of news, Roy stomped his way inside Laboratory Three. It didn't make sense; none of it was. Just yesterday night, he found her kids committing taboo and barely survived it and now this? The alchemist would have to look into that stupid fortune Maes had been blabbering about.

His days were becoming unbearable.

A yellow line of tape with the words 'keep out' written in bold black letters blocked the entrance into Julliana Hong's office inside Laboratory Three. From where he stood, Roy could make out the desk, file cabinet, and chair inside; though, all of them were charred black and some parts disintegrated to ashes. He tore the tape apart and entered the blackened room while he turned on the flashlight in his hand. The alchemist examined the room. Nothing seemed out of place and nothing appeared to be the cause of the fire. Well, not until he looked inside the top drawer of the file cabinet, at least.

Inside was more than a handful of ashes, and from what he was told, there were no files in this drawer since everything was moved to the lowest one. So why were there ashes? "It was intentional..." he muttered to himself. But how could someone sneak inside the lab? This place had been heavily guarded since Tim Marcoh and Ana worked here; only two of the many individuals who have projects that the military personally gave them.

Despite orders, Ana had always told him of what she worked on and how much progress she made. To be aware of such weapon of mass destruction— well, death but he made his point— Ana assured him that she trusted him more than she trusted the military. He was flattered, really, but with her gone, he had thought someone would have already taken her research papers to recreate the virus—

— Roy turned around, just in time to make eye contact with a soldier that walked into his sight. "Hey, you." the random soldier flinched and saluted. "Y-Yes, Flame Alchemist, sir?"

"Did anyone move out anything from this room since last year?"

"I-I—

"_Anything_, at all?"

"N-No, sir! Major Hong sealed up her office with alchemy, sir! No one moved anything in or out aside from the Major!"

The alchemist dismissed the pale soldier as he further observed the charred room. The door for her office was gone, and yet, it had been sealed with alchemy. If Roy knew her, Ana wouldn't have used a wooden door— maybe metal or solid rock. And from the book data log of visitors at the main desk in the lobby was anything to go by, no other alchemist had been here ever since the war ended. A few clean up crews and scientists, sure, but alchemist? Roy was the first one in a long while, it seemed.

Exasperation painted his handsome features, a gloved hand sliding from his face down to his chin in disbelief. "Just what on earth are you doing, Julliana?"


	7. chapter 7

"... she'll gonna kill me, won't she?"

"Yes, sir."

"Probably rip my limbs off my body."

"A definite, sir."

"Maybe roast me, too? That'd be ironic."

"Very, sir."

"Maybe she'll make something that'll rot my body in a short time period?"

"Highly likely, sir."

The rest of Roy Mustang's team gave both him and Riza Hawkeye horrified looks. For some reason, ever since that blond kid received his pocket watch and title all those years ago, which hadn't been that long, their superior had been acting... odd? Well, odder than usual, to be precise. The Flame Alchemist had been hunched over in one corner for hours now, muttering incoherent things as waves of dread rolled off him. It was just a few minutes ago when he started talking loud enough for them to hear.

"Or that virus of hers?"

"Don't joke about that, sir."

Fuery perked up at this, an epiphany hitting him when Roy mentioned the word virus. "Um, First Lieutenant? Could the person he's been talking about be... is Major Hong?" Roy buried his face further in his knees when the techie uttered the woman's name who's been plaguing him since that morning. Havoc raised an eyebrow at this. "The same woman from the letter? Jeez, sir, why don't ya just chalk it up with her? It's been years." For some weird reason, the dread rolling off Roy intensified. Havoc flinched in surprise at that.

"Don't you know?" Breda mused on his desk, flipping through the stack of papers. "The Cataclysmic Alchemist went MIA near at the end of the war. No one knew why either."

Havoc blinked before his jaw dropped ever so slightly. "You mean the person chief's been brooding over is that alchemist?!"

"I'm surprised that you didn't know. She's kind of famous." Falman commented from where he was. The blond man almost swallowed his cigarette. "Of course I'd know her! I just didn't know her name goddammit! And no one told me all these years?! Unbelievable!"

Riza rolled her eyes at the antics of her teammates yet a miniscule smile graced her lips. She glanced at her friend before a sigh escaped her. "Colonel," the sniper called out with a clipped tone. "I'm sure she'd actually kill you if you don't look after those boys properly." That sent another wave of depression roll off him. "Ever since they've been a part of the military, which she hates with all her being, of course, all you can do now for her is not to let those boys get themselves killed in a mission."

"... that's hardly comforting, First Lieutenant."

"I'm simply stating what is true, sir."

The ravenet sighed in defeat, accepting the fact that Ana would murder him in the near future. At last, Roy sat back down behind his desk, his fingers interlaced as he rested his chin on top of them. "Any reports?" His team got used to his sudden mood swing when it concerned the other woman in his life; especially when it happens ever so often. It entertained them a bit, to be honest. "Nothing has happened in Laboratory Three since the last incident..." Roy quirked an eyebrow when Riza trailed off.

"And?"

"... rumors of an alchemist coming in from the East helped a town whose main source of income is agriculture." The ravenet perked up at this, his attention piqued the moment his First Lieutenant finished. "Agriculture, you say?"

"Yes. For the last few years, the town of Helios had been visited by drought numerous times a year. Just a few months ago, in the middle of drought, an alchemist arrived and brought forth 'miracle' to them." At this moment, a soft smile graced Riza's lips; drawing the same conclusion like Roy's in her mind. "A well materialized from the sand and water came forth with a clap of the alchemist's hands. After that, this rumored miracle worker did something to the dried plot of land Helios has. Crops of the highest quality had grown in a matter of weeks."

"So Helios started trading again?"

"Yes, and rumors of this alchemist spread and even reached Central."

Roy hummed in response, separating his interwoven fingers with a familiar smirk painting his features. He looked at Falman, who stood in attention and saluted. "Get Fullmetal for me. I have a... very important mission for him."

After almost four years of disappearing to who-knows-where, it was time for a reunion.

**oooOooo**

Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, grumbled under his breath in disdain as he once again crossed the desert. It hadn't even been that long since he came back to Central and Mustang already gave him a job out at the East... in the freaking desert of all places.

It hadn't been just one town but two, for Truth's sake. First was in Liore which he and Al already finished with. They were on their way to Helios, a halfway point between Liore and Youswell.

From what he knew, Helios was separated into two climates; the Western Helios was filled with sand and the Eastern Helios was surrounded by mountains. By some odd miracle, it was a town whose agriculture is rich.

Sandy loam soil dominated the central part of town. "Oi, Al, you still with me?" Silence met him. "Al?" When he turned around, he just saw... sand. "Alphonse?!" The alchemist called out in a panic before shrieking in horror when something grabbed his ankle.

It was Al's hand.

It took him roughly ten minutes to dig out his brother out of the sand, even opening his chest plate to let out some of it that got inside him. "Dammit, Al, stop getting buried!"

"I can't help it, brother!" Alphonse whined as he shook out the last handful of sand inside him. Edward groaned in exasperation, the heat making his vision blurry. "Al... is the sun getting bigger or what?"

The red eyes of the armor blinked and looked up, seeing the sun glaring down at them like it had been this past few hours. "I think you're getting delusional, brother. The sun is the same as always." When Alphonse received no answer, he turned to face his brother; only to gape in disbelief.

Edward collapsed and snuggled into the sand. "B-Brother!" The suit of armor clamored loudly as he picked up his brother in haste. Alphonse ran the remaining distance towards Helios with Ed in his arms, muttering gibberish in his dehydrated and delusional state.

The town of Helios came to sight. He didn't have time to be in awe, however, as he approached the nearest civilian to him and asked where he could find a hospital. "There's no hospital but we do have a clinic." With the directions given to him, Alphonse set out and have his brother checked up on.

The doctor of Helios, an old graying woman who still seemed so strong despite her sagging skin, told him not to worry. Ed had only a mild case of dehydration and some hallucination for being out in the heat for however long; especially with his automail. It must have burned him a little.

Alphonse, relieved that his brother would be okay, decided to check out the town. The doctor said that Ed should stay there for at least a day to recuperate. That was why Alphonse decided to do a little investigating of his own.

The town seemed to be rich with greenery despite the climate. A water system— irrigation, he corrected himself— ran along the ground and seemed to work at certain times in the day. People sold minerals and vegetables; an odd combination but he could see why Helios caught the Colonel's attention.

From what he informed them, Helios had been plagued by drought for some time now, and the town had almost been left to rot if it weren't for this strange alchemist a few months ago. It amazed him how the town prospered in just a short amount of time.

"Hey, you, in the armor!" someone called out which made Al pause in his steps. A child stopped in front of him; her amber hair braided into twin tails, her large sandy-colored eyes looked at him in earnest. Al's heart melted at the sight of her cuteness. She couldn't be older than nine. "Are you here to see Miss Jullia?!"

The name sent a jolt of familiarity and shock into his soul. He caught himself before he jumped into conclusion. Maybe it was just a person who had a similar name to their big sister? Then again, her name was odd and unique; in all their traveling, they haven't met someone who had so much as a similar name to hers.

"Is that the person who helped you guys?"

"Mhm! She's really nice and pretty and— and she's strong! Lots of people come here just to see her!"

Hesitation flooded his eyes. He kept debating with himself if he should wait for his brother to wake up or go see this person by himself. But then, Al remembered that Ed seemed a bit... bitter when someone mentions a guardian or if Al accidentally brings up their sister.

The suit of armor glanced at the child, his head tilting the slightest bit. "Could you help me find her then?"

"Sure thing!"

If he still had a physical heart, Al was sure it would be racing in anticipation right now. It wasn't for certain but they might find their sister again after all these years. Sure, he wasn't looking forward to having his ass handed to him when she finds out what he and Ed had done; but she would finally be with them again.

With nothing but his armor clanking and the girl chattering away, the world became muted the closer they got to their destination. "— and Miss Jullia spends a lot of her time in the farm! She really likes plants and stuff and tells us that eating vegetables is good and that they are really good for us and Miss Jullia always says that alchemy isn't the answer for everything when she started teaching us the basics and if we do something stupid with it she said that we wouldn't want to know what'll happen—"

Alphonse shuddered at that. Actually, he was starting to think if he should just go back and bring his brother with him. That way, he wouldn't be the only one who would die a horrible death in the hands of their sister.

"We're here!"

A shiver made his armor clank loudly in the natural silence as he watched the kid ran up to a figure that stepped out of the hut a few feet away from him.

"Youngest munchkin, I thought I told you not to stray too far."

"But someone wants to meet you, Miss Jullia! And he's really weird for wearing that armor in the desert!"

Everything blurred into the background the moment Alphonse set his eyes on this Miss Jullia. The name alone sent his armor clamoring in familiarity; now that he heard her voice, there was no mistake about it. That ginger hair. Those sharp stormy-blue eyes. That toothy grin and freckles splashed across her nose and cheeks.

In front of him, Julliana Hong smiled a familiar smile that sent warmth through his soul. Even when he couldn't feel her comfort anymore, just the sight of her smile made Alphonse remember the times when he did feel it. "And you are? We hardly get lone visitors; it's usually a group that comes here."

No words left the stunned Elric.

He watched as her eyebrows furrowed in worry, her lips set into a familiar frown that made the brewing sadness inside of him to intensify. Alphonse wanted to hug her; to feel her warmth and comfort and her soothing presence and just... everything.

He missed being scolded, too.

"I-I—" he managed to stutter out, the lines her face caused by worry smoothening out at his voice. "— I'm with my brother; we went here together."

"Is that right? Did you get separated?"

"I, uh, no. He's, um, at the clinic."

Really, Alphonse didn't know what to say. With this armor as his body, she wouldn't be able to recognize him, at all. Why was it so hard to tell her that he was Alphonse Elric?

_Probably because she'd kill me before I could get my body back?_

"Miss Jullia!"

The tension Al felt dispersed at the arrival of a civilian, who seemed to look a little bit frantic. "Chris from Eastern Helios is back." A groan left Julliana, her expression painted with annoyance. "Again? That shit doesn't know when to quit, does he?"

Lili gently pat the woman's cheek. "You said a bad word!"

Alphonse watched them with aching heart, the sadness overwhelming him when he saw Julliana roll her eyes ruffle Lili's hair. It took everything he has to not let anyone hear his sobs. He didn't let them echo in his armor. In fact, he tried to bury his feeling at the moment because the anxiety rolling off from the messenger made him snap to attention.

"Rey, think you can get Lili to a safe place?"

"I, uh, sure... but what for?"

"I think it's time that shit fall from his high horse. I've had enough of his attitude." Lili pouted as Julliana handed her to Rey, who proceeded to leave and warn the rest of the townspeople. Alphonse almost shrieked in terror when Julliana's narrowed eyes landed on him.

"Hey, big guy, know how to fight?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

The mischievous smile that graced her lips made Al a little nervous. He knew that expression; someone was about to get their dignity ripped off... badly. "Come on here, then."

Al hesitated but in the end, he walked until he was beside her. Everything seemed a little unreal for him at the moment, in all honesty. "Um, Miss Julia?" the woman hummed in response. "Who's this Chris? And why did Mister Rey look as if he just came from a squirmish?"

"Chris is a little bastard who thinks he owns everything now just because his father's on his death bed— Al gasped in surprise at that. "— due to old age, don't worry. Anyway, he thinks he has the right to control the price of the crops, thinks he knows what and how it should be planted, and how everything is supposed to work. In short? He thinks he's mister know-it-all. Saying something about me being a woman or some shit like that and I shouldn't be overseeing this, that moron."

Al was pretty sure that he wasn't supposed to hear that last sentence. "So he wants everything to go according to what he thinks things should supposed to work?"

"Pretty much. I know his old man; strong and kind-hearted... kinda reminds me of a pair of boys I know, really." Al froze at that, and despite not being physically able to, the suit of armor began to sweat in nervousness. Any second now and he might slip up and expose himself.

_I'm not ready to die yet!_

Her stormy-blue eyes pierced right through him as if seeing right through his very soul before a grin replaced her stoic expression. "Get ready to kick someone's ass, big guy."

At the other end of the field, a man riding a horse appeared followed by a handful of men at his side. The way they simply strutted right through the field and destroyed their hard-growned crops caused anger to bubble up inside Al.

"Miss Jullia!" the leader, Chris, greeted with a charming smile. One that Julliana scoffed at. "Chris the Ass; how kind of you to stop by." Al had to stifle his laughter at that, noticing how Chris— a man who's fairly handsome with dark hair and brown eyes— twitched in annoyance.

The suit of armor suddenly noticed how Julliana clapped her hands together, the tiniest glow and crackle of lightning catching his attention. He then wondered what she had just done when he realized nothing happened around them. "So what are you and your men doing here? I thought your father told you not to come here."

Chris smiled down in a rather condescending way at her as he hopped off the saddle of his horse, followed by his men behind him. "I just want to talk, Miss Jullia." The clicking of the safety of a gun reached Al's ears and suddenly, he and Julliana were at gun point by at least ten men. "And the deed for this land."

Julliana wasn't impressed and gave him a blank look. "Look, asshole, this land is for everyone. I wouldn't have any qualms if your father asked but since it's you..." The ginger head flipped him _the_ finger. Chris' eye twitched. "... go to hell. You're not getting even an acre from the farmers."

"Is that so..." Chris gave his men a look and all of them fired consecutive shots.

Alphonse gasped and covered Julliana with his body which earned him an incredulous look from the woman. "Big guy, stop! You're going to get—" she stopped when she heard several clicks and yet no gunshot. She peeked behind him and saw Chris and his men gaping in shock.

One of them took out a pistol with shaky hands and shot at Al's head with surprising accuracy. His helmet flew off and clanged when it fell on the ground. Alphonse shrugged it off and asked, "You didn't get hurt, did you, Miss Jullia?" He noticed her blinking rapidly in shock.

"T-There's no head!"

"He's a monster!"

With them distracted, Alphonse charged at them; his empty inside visible for them to see. All of them squealed like banshees when he reached them. None of them were trained at all, and their confidence came from the weapons they have. It didn't even take Al a minute to dispose of them.

He left Chris alone, however, since he sensed as if Julliana wanted to deal with him personally.

"Big guy," Al paused from tying up the men he had just beat up. The amused smile on her lips surprised him. "I was just hoping for you to intimidate them. After all, I already did the damage." In eerie unison, Chris and his men doubled over and hugged their stomachs.

"Y-You— what did you do?!" Chris ended with a pained groan as he clutched his midsection tighter. "You better get to a bathroom soon if you don't want people see you shitting your pants."

In a rather comical way, all of them ran away, followed by their horses, and back to Eastern Helios. Chris shouted something in the distance, suspiciously sounding like, "I'll get you back for this sorcery, Miss Jullia!"

All Alphonse managed to do was blink at the scene in front of him the second he placed his head back in its place. "What... was that?" Awe laced his voice. He had never really seen their sister in action or even use alchemy like that. On that note... "How did you do that?!" Al exlaimed in excitement, causing Julliana to laugh in response.

"Bacteria— salmonella, in fact. Transmitted by air and had them inhale it or had the bacteria land on their mouth. Then again, it's kind of fast-acting so saying it's just salmonella may be incorrect."

"B-By air?! But you'd have to have crazy precision so it wouldn't spread uselessly, big sis—!" Alphonse caught himself but it was too late as those two words escaped him. A pair of stormy-blue eyes that darkened in response to his slip up sent shivers down his spine.

Her lips parted and the name she uttered made him freeze. "Alphonse," it lacked the humor and delight it had earlier. "I knew it was you. Your body might have been different but that voice—" Al flinched. He didn't think she'd recognize him that way! "— I knew that voice."

She took a step towards him and even if he wanted to move, he couldn't. The look in her eyes froze him in place. "You... You two did it, didn't you..?" Al gasped at that; he didn't think she'd figure it out in an instant! Instead of the beat up he'd been expecting from her, Ana hugged him; her arms circling his waist, her cheek resting on his chest plate.

The moment could have lasted for hours if it weren't for the fact that Ana suddenly jumped away with a yelp of pain.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Touching hot metal is not a good idea, dammit!"

**oooOooo**

Alphonse finished recalling the events that led to him being stuck in that armor, what he and Ed had been up to all these years and the like. "That munchkin joined as a State Alchemist..?"

"Y-Yes..?" For some reason though, Ana looked like she was about to head into a murder spree.

"And Roy was the one who invited him?"

"Y-Yes!" Al squeaked out in fear as he cowered across from her. The way her eyes narrowed dangerously sent alarming bells ringing in his head. Maybe Alphonse shouldn't have mentioned those parts? "_I'll kill that little shit!"_

(Somewhere out there in Amestris, Roy Mustang violently sneezed and had everyone around him jump back in surprise.)

The young Elric cowered more at her declaration. Maybe it had been a mistake to tell her just about everything. "And... um, what about Ed? You said he was at the clinic..." her sudden mood swing practically slapped Alphonse back to reality.

"Just a little dehydrated... and had a few hallucinations to accompany that..." Al laughed in nervousness, rubbing the back of his head a bit sheepish out of habit. "The doctor said that he'll been fine after resting though. He'd have to stay the night, unfortunately."

"I see... I'm glad then."

Al tilted his head upon sighting the sad expression on her face. "He hates me, doesn't he?"

The younger Elric winced at that which she took notice. Al had hoped that his brother would have forgotten aout his bitter feelings against their sister when they finally meet again. Unfortunately, his hopes were crushed. "It's fine, Al," she reassured him. "I would hate me, too, for disappearing on you guys without warning."

"... where did you go, sister?"

"I can't tell; not yet, anyway. There are a few things I have to do, things I need to figure out, and things I need to end. Until then, I can't say." His shoulders visibly sagged at that, dismayed by her words. A finger lifted his chin in a gentle manner, his eyes focusing on the sisterly smile on Ana's lips. "I'll make sure to tell you and Ed first, alright? I won't tell anyone else until I've told you guys."

"... promise?"

He saw her blink in shock before she laughed like the chimes of bell on a particularly cloudy day. "A promise I won't break this time, other munchkin." It took every single bit of his willpower to not breakdown in front of her. That inexplicable joy that spread through his soul rendered him speechless in happiness.

Julliana Hong was back and Alphonse would do anything before someone takes her away from them again.

**oooOooo**

The Fullmetal Alchemist wore a frown as he burned holes into the door with his eyes. He woke up in an unfamiliar place with an old woman tending to him. A smack to the back of his head had him obeying her every word. "Where on earth did Al go? He's been gone for hours." Just as he muttered that to himself, the door opened and revealed his brother... who seemed to be in a rather good mood.

Ed raised a suspicious eyebrow as he watched his brother with a careful eye. "You look happy."

"Oh, am I?"

Alphonse sat beside him on the couch and a dreamy sigh came from him; causing a look of incredulity to appear on his face. Ed was a little creeped out with how his brother acted. "So... what happened while you're out?" Al giggled all of a sudden, adding up to the creepy factor. "It's a secret, brother! By the way," the armor looked at him. "I want you to meet someone! That alchemist we came here for!"

That caught Ed's interest. "Ha, that's cool, Al. Is he nice?"

"_She_, in fact, is very hospitable, brother. Just be on your best behaviour tomorrow and we won't die." Ed blinked several times, trying to process what his brother just said.

_D... Die?!_


	8. chapter 8

Exactly the next day, Alphonse dragged him out as soon as Edward slid on his coat. The State Alchemist almost tripped on his way out with how hasty his brother was being. "Yo, Al! Slow down!" But his armored brother giggled just like the kid he was that it made Edward smile in fondness. It had been a while since he'd seen him like that and it took a tiny bit of weight off his chest.

Seeing Al so happy, who was he to stomp on that excitement of his? Instead, Ed picked himself up and ran beside his brother. "What's gotten you so excited?"

"It's a secret!"

The blond teen rolled his eyes in a playful manner. It didn't take them long and Al slowed down, Ed following suite. The sight of fully grown and healthy-looking crops marveled him. Except for the straight patch coming in, in the middle of the field where the crops were crushed and rotting. "What happened here?"

"Remember how Helios is split into two," Al spoke up beside him. "Someone from the Eastern side wanted all this land to himself; monopolize the market and all that. The alchemist and I drove them away though but she thinks they'll come back today or the next day."

Ed snorted, resting his hands on the back of his head. "I'm not surprised. With this kind of land, who wouldn't want it? It looks perfect for planting, too. Though it needs to be watered occasionally; it's a sandy loam but still great for a soil in this kind of place." Golden eyes wandered around, finally noticing something out of place. "Where are the farmers, though?"

"Oh! The alchemist had been guarding the field for a while now and tended to it at the same time. She said that she wouldn't want anyone to get into the crossfire in case the Easterners come again." _Again_, Ed furrowed his eyebrows, away from his brother's sight. _Al's been trying to avoid saying this alchemist's name. Why is that?_

Having had enough, Ed turned to face his brother with narrowed eyes, causing said armor to yelp in surprise and sweat in nervousness. "So, Al."

"Y-Yes, brother?"

"You seem... talkative whenever that alchemist comes up as the topic."

The younger Elric suddenly avoided his gaze.

"Wh-Whatever do you mean, brother?"

"Ah!" Both Elrics jumped in surprise when a high-pitched voice exclaimed, "It's the big brother with the odd fashion sense!" Edward watched, bewildered, when his brother slumped over in depression for having his 'fashion sense' called odd. The blonde saw the child approach them with that big sandy-colored eyes. Nostalgia hit him out of nowhere as soon as he realized the innocence shining in her eyes.

Innocence that he lost years ago.

"... are you his little brother?"

A vein popped on his forehead. Edward tried to reign in his anger since this was a child in front of him; not some peer or adult he could shout at all he wants. "Look, kid, I'm Edward Elric; the Fullmetal Alchemist and I'm—" he suddenly pointed at the sulking armor. "— Al's _big_ brother."

"... but you're so short!"

"I. Am. Not. Short." He gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Miss Jullia says that if you're short, you mustn't have been drinking your milk or eating your vegetables!"

"THAT'S NOT—" Edward suddenly blinked, all his frustration towards being called short washed away the second he realized what the kid said. "Who said what now?"

"Miss Jullia! She's been helping us grow crops and chasing away bad men!"

With how weird his brother was acting, could it be because of what Ed suddenly realized? Could this Miss Jullia be..?

The sound of hooves suddenly reached them. Al quickly picked up Lili in his arms as they face the people on horses. "It's them," Al's voice made Edward glance at his brother. "They're the Easterner's I've mentioned. I didn't think they would come back so quickly..."

Edward frowned when he say that instead of going through the destroyed patch of land from yesterday, they made another one not that far from the original. He gritted his teeth in anger; how could they do something like that?

The one leading the group stopped his horse and got off; hisnsteps wobbly and a bit unsure for some reason. "Miss Jullia isn't here, eh? Only the monster, a kid, and some shorty."

"_WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN ANT SO SMALL YOU'LL BURN HIM WITH A MAGNIFYING GLASS?!"_

"B-Brother, he didn't say that..."

The Easterners sent him bewildered looks. "What the hell is wrong with that kid?"

A vein popped and Edward clapped his hands, and slammed his palms on the ground. Poles erupted from the ground and created a cell that trapped all of then. There were shouts of disbelief and horror that come from them. "Another alchemist?!"

Edward smirked at his work and looked at his brother and the kid in his arms. "And that's why I'm called the Fullmetal Alchemist, kid." Her eyes widened in awe and Edward felt his ego growing inch by inch the longer she stares at hin.

"Oi, let us out here, foreigner! You're not involved in this town's matter!" The dark-haired man exclaimed in outrage inside his jail, causing Ed to turn around and stared at him with a grumpy face. "Haaaaa?" A gloved hand suddenly stopped the blond from advancing in his irritation.

"He's right," the owner of the hand said, that familiar voice causing Ed to freeze. He hadn't heard that voice for years. "This is between me and him so stand down, munchkin."

_No way..._ Fullmetal thought in disbelief. _There's no way she'll just pop up here just like that!_ Yet the woman who stepped up beside him proved the alchemist wrong. A tiny glare of reflected sunlight made him wince but it was over in a second. As his vision cleared, a growl came from his throat.

Julliana Hong stood beside him, looking as if she hadn't aged since back then, but her eyes stared up ahead; an aloof expression painting her features.

It took Ed everything in him not to lunge and attack her, his fists shook from his reigning anger.

"Oi, Chris, haven't you little shits have enough? How many times do you want to be sent straight to the bathroom?"

"I'm not backing down until I have this land to myself! So hand over the deed, Miss Jullia!"

With a clap of her hands, the circle etched onto her glove glowed brightly. Julliana slammed her hands on the dirt and lightning crawled towards Chris and his men. A cannon materialized with them inside it and when a breeze blew by, she clapped her hands yet again and the Elrics and little Lili watched as Chris and his moronic entourage flew to the sky.

"And they're blasting off again," Julliana stated, unamused. "When will they learn to leave this place alone?"

"... that's it..?"

Julliana paused and turned around to look at Edward's rage-filled eyes. His golden irises burning in that same anger she had once seen in herself before. "You're just going to act like you didn't leave us..?" Alphonse glanced at them with worry, pulling Lili closer to him when she began whimpering.

"You've been back this entire time and didn't even think about telling us?!" Edward's voice cracked at the end, betrayal laced his voice. "You _promised_... you promised me, dammit! You promised that you wouldn't leave me and Al but you _did_!" A shaky breath left him, trying to compose himself. He wasn't about to cry. No, she didn't deserve his tears.

"You said you'll come home but you didn't. I thought you were better than that bastard."

The scientist kept quiet all this time, letting Edward yell out his bottled up feelings. Every word he said was like a sword to the heart; those were true, of course, so Ana didn't have anything to say. She had broken her promise to her munchkin twice and how ironic it was when she told them they should always keep true to their words.

It startled her with how venomous he sounded. "So what? You're not going to say anything? Tch." She winced at that. "C'mon, Al. We're done here. I have to talk to Colonel Bastard for sending us here."

"B-But brother..."

"_Now_, Al."

Ana saw the worried look on Alphonse's eyes and could even feel it in the air. She smiled in reassurance, as simple as that, and with a nudge of her head to tell him that it was okay, Alphonse followed after his brother after placing Lili in her arms.

"Miss Jullia..?" said woman hummed in response, flinching in surprise when Lili reached out to touch her cheek. "You're crying..."

The last time Ana cried... Roy had been there for her but now? She didn't have him by his side. _Goddammit, Roy, why'd I have to remember you?_

**oooOooo**

"Brother, please—"

"No. Just don't, Al. She has no right to appear in our lives just like that," his fingers dug into the flesh of his right palm. "No letter. No phone calls. Not even a tiny note!" Edward had gone back to the inn they've checked in this morning and checked out just as quickly. He could tell Al wanted him to give their sister a chance to explain but he was having none of it.

They were leaving and that was that. Nothing Al could say would change Edward's mind. With Helios in the distance, Al kept trying to persuade him but how could his brother just accept her back in their life? Just like that? Was it that easy to atone for the sins she committed to them? It took showing up for Al to forgive her?

The eldest Elric didn't understand. Why was Al so forgiving? Why didn't he hate their sister for leaving them? "Brother..." Al spoke up beside him but he was adamant about his decision. They were going back to Central and he was going to give that Colonel Bastard a piece of his mind. That bastard _knew_; Ed was sure of it.

"Why... Why do you hate sister so much..?"

"Don't you understand anything," Ed snapped at his brother's question; the anger he'd been trying to hold back pouring out of him all at once. "She probably didn't love us back then! If she did, how could she easily abandon us?! She shouldn't have come back!" By the end of his rant, Ed felt his brother's fist make contact with his cheek.

It didn't throw him back, it was rather weak yet Al transferred all his anger through that sloppily delivered punch. "You're the one who doesn't understand anything, brother! Sister Ana loved us with everything! Don't you remember?! She was a traveler but she gave that up to take care of us!"

Fullmetal caressed his stinging cheek with his flesh hand, eyes wide in shock.

"She gave up her goals to take care of us when mom passed away! She sacrificed her time to take care of two kids who she knew for only less than a month! How could you just throw her aside like she hadn't done anything for us, brother?!"

_She doesn't deserve our apology, Al!_ He wanted to scream on the top of his lungs. _She abandoned us; what more do you want to know aside from that?! Isn't that enough not to let her back into our lives?!_

All those words vanished when a loud explosion came from Helios. A giant cloud of sand could be seen from where the brothers stood. Since Helios didn't have any huge establishments aside from the one who owned the town, they could see the flashes of alchemic light in the distance.

Alphonse _moved_ and ran back towards Helios, snapping Edward out of his stupor. "Al, come back here!" But his brother ignored him and kept on running. Edward clicked his tongue and chased after him, back to where their supposed sister had been hiding. It didn't take him long to reach the town but when he did, he realized that whatever battle Julliana found herself in; it was a tough one.

Some debris had even reached the far side of town, the outskirts, when the battle had occurred at the center of Helios; where the bountiful field of crops separated the Eastern and Western part. Edward lost sight of Al when he had to help a family stuck under a huge boulder— how did that even reach here?!

With a scowl marring his lips, he made his way towards the field where a devastating sight greeted him. The hard grown crops the farmers had painstakingly planted and cared for were now reduced to pulps in the field. All of it were _destroyed_, leaving nothing unscathed.

He heard the sound of someone shouting from somewhere at his left so he headed there. However, things didn't get any better from there. Sure, he had found Al but in his arms laid the limp body of one familiar child. "Lili..." even from a distance, Ed heard how shaky his brother's voice was. It didn't take a genius to know what happened.

Outraged, he glanced at the fight and, to his surprise, an unmatched fury painted Julliana's features and her opponent was none other than... Chris? Edward was pretty sure that the guy wasn't an alchemist and the fact that Julliana hadn't defeated him puzzled Ed.

She had taken care of that guy with ease not long ago and yet, she was having trouble now?

"You shit—!" Julliana screamed. Before she could even clap her hands together, Chris had beaten her to it. A red alchemical flash blinded her momentarily; his watch deconstructed and reconstructed into a meter-length sword. "— how the fuck are you ignoring Equivalent Exchange?!"

(In the background, Edward perked up in hungry interest.)

Chris gave her a smug look, before performing another. Metallic pillars shot out of the ground and chased after her. He endlessly produced them, giving Julliana no time to take a breather as she focused on dodging instead of attacking. She needed to figure out how he suddenly became a prodigious alchemist in such a short time.

In her too focused state, she hadn't realized that she somehow got near where Al and Lili— that sweet, sweet child who the murderer took the life of— and clapped her hands together, slamming them down on the ground as soon as she landed in front of them. A huge wall of solid rock erupted from the ground in a blink of an eye.

Some of the pillars met with her wall and despite it being rock, the metallic pillars didn't break her alchemical construction. Julliana was on the move in an instance, letting the remaining pillars chase after her. This time, she strategically moved to where Chris was.

Said shit was busy muttering to himself in his arrogance to notice her nearing him second by second. By the time that he did, it was too late. Julliana was running towards him, the last of his metallic pillars chasing after her. Chris furrowed his eyebrows when she just kept heading towards him.

"O-Oi—!" before they could collide, Julliana leaped over him. Instead of hitting her, Chris had hit himself.

The construct cracked and crumbled when it knocked out its own maker. Chris was out cold, falling on his back with a pretty stupid look on his face even when he was unconscious. Julliana approached him with apprehension, noticing a red stone rolling out of his hand.

She was about to pick it up, and destroy it with her own hands, when someone else snatched it. It didn't even surprise her that it had been Edward, his eyes wide with wonder and excitement. "Is this—"

"— a Philosopher's Stone; yes, it is. Now give it to me, Edward." His head snapped up at her, a scowl on his lips and his eyes glowering at her. "No," he answered with a clipped tone. "Al and I have been looking for this stone for _years_. To use it to get Al's body back." Edward wasn't an idiot; she would have found out about what they had done with just one look.

Julliana wasn't a scientist and alchemist for nothing.

"You don't get it, Edward. Give me that. It's too weak to even be an original stone." But the blond shook his head. However, a hand shooting up and snatching the stone from his grasp surprised him. Chris woke up faster than any of them suspected after being hit by a metal pillar of all things.

A bright red flash of light erupted from his hand, his finger nails growing long and sharper than normal. Edward, too stunned to do anything, was pushed away by Julliana just as Chris buried those monstrous nails into her.

It was as if everything slowed down in his eyes. Edward had been about to move at the last second, but Julliana had been faster, pushing him out of harm's way. Instead of him, she was hurt. She coughed up a handful of blood but things didn't end there.

The stone— which he thought was _real_— rebounded.

Just like the one in Liore.

And this time, Julliana was in the line of fire.

**oooOooo**

_It was bright, she mused, an endless sea of white greeting her the moment she opened her eyes. Not a sound of nature or sound of men echoed in her ears.__Instead, it was her own heartbeat, her own breathing, and even the flow of her blood. It was her own being that she hears and see. In this white space void of anything but her, it was like she became aware of everything that made her, her._

_"Surprised?"_

_A voice not her own, yet at the same time sounded like her, reached her ears. When she turned around to face whoever it was, not even 'surprise' could describe her emotion at the sight._

_A white silhouette outlined by opaque shadows stood before her, a grin so wide marred its face and sent shivers down her body.__"... what is this place?" she remembered asking with a bored tone. "I don't remember leaving my room."_

_"Ah," It breathed out in amusement. "But you did something and now, you have to pay for the consequences." She blinked at his words, confusion flashing in her eyes. "What do you mean by that?"_

_It grinned more, amused by this human. "You keep asking questions yet not curious of who I am?"_

_"I have no interest of your identity. I simply want to go home."_

_With that, It waved its hand in a nonchalant manner. "But that can't be done. You can never go back to that place you call home. You can never set foot into that reality ever again because you have crossed to this side... unless you finish playing the game we started, Julliana Hong."_

_Annoyance glinted in Ana's eyes. "Game? What game? I'm pretty sure we only just met, whoever and whatever you are."__It smiled, not a grin but a smile, and tilted its head. "Oh, but you do. 'You' claimed that you know everything about me, Julliana Hong, and threatened to take the place of God."_

_Ana furrowed her eyebrows. "Just what are you blabbering about..?"_

_"You claimed that God toyed with the lives of humans. Therefore, you declared that I should not be God and that you are more suited to be one."_

_She began to take a step forward, having had enough of its weirdness. "Just stop spouting nonsense, you bastard."_

_"Nonsense?" it bursted into laughter as a door behind it slowly materialized. Ana took a step back in awe, eyes wandering the designs etched onto the stone door which floated just a few inches above solid white ground. "You think my words are nonsense?"_

_That snapped her back out of her head. "Human, finish the game, win, and reap your reward. Shall you lose, the consequences will leave you with absolutely nothing; such is the end for someone like you."_

_The door opened and black tendrils weaved out, and clutched onto her. Ana tried to get out of their hold but it was like they were stuck to her skin. They dragged her into the void, into the door leading to nowhere... or so she thought. "Let me go—!"_

_"Goodluck, Julliana Hong."_

_"Let me go, Truth!" a familiar word left her lips just before the door closed to a shut.__Truth chuckled to itself._

_"Let the fun begin, then."_

**oooOooo**

It had been days yet she hadn't woken up.

Edward glued himself to her bedside, refusing to go to sleep until he passes out himself. Al, worried, decided to leave him be as he worked with the townspeople; worked for little Lili's funeral.

They had heard of what happened, and who had taken the life of a child. Furious, the representative of Western Helios marched into the governor's office.

It didn't matter if that man was on his deathbed, he needed to know the foolish things his stupid son had caused.

The elder Elric moved in his sleep, slouched onto a chair as he relived the memory of what happened a few days ago. The fake stone— just as Julliana told him— rebounded the second that bastard used it again at the end of battle... or so they thought.

He remembered nails as sharp as steel burrying themselves in Julliana's stomach, puncturing her until they pierced right through her back. When the stone crackled, Ed moved— and pulled her away, before she could get caught in the rebound.

With quick thinking, he took off his coat and wrapped it around her midsection and tied it tightly before oucking her up. He hadn't even registered Al calling for his name because terror filled his body.

He couldn't lose someone again, he couldn't take losing Ana!

His eyes fluttered open not because of sound but because of the heat. Sweat trickled down his skin as he stretched his limbs and back. Sore muscles were a pain but he was adamant about staying by her side. It was too soon, he mused to himself, too soon to leave her side.

The door to her room creaked open and Al and the town doctor— the same one who treated him before— came in. "Brother, how's sister?"

Gold eyes flickered to her unresponsive form. "Still the same." Al looked downhearted at the news before glancing at her sleeping body. "The doctor said she needs to go."

"Wait, what?!" Ed knocked off his chair in shock and Al realized how his words came off as. "I-I mean, she needs better treatment so she needs to go to a better hospital!" The elder Elric gave his brother an annoyed look, of which was returned by a sheepish one.

"We can't treat her as good as those in Central. We don't have the necessary equipment to better her recovery. Here, things might have been overlooked since we're not well-equipped." The doctor explained in full, calming Edward down that they weren't just being kicked out for nothing.

"Oh... dammit, Al. You scared me for a sec."

"... oops?"

**oooOooo**

The journey back to Central felt longer than it was supposed to. To not aggravate Julliana's wounds— since they were fairly raw and could reopen any second— Ed opted for a first class for all three of them. It was private and quiet, something she would appreciate if she were awake.

When they arrived, they went straight for the hospital and admitted her in a private room— well, she was supposed to be MIA, right? Certain individuals might recognize her even if it has been a few years.

As they looked at her sleeping form, somehow, their shoulders felt a lot lighter. Things seemed a lot brighter and happier even if it's only for that moment. Edward and Alphonse glanced at each other before stupid smiles appeared on their faces—more Ed than Al.

"Oh, right," the elder Elric was hit by realization. "I have to report to Colonel Bastard. Haven't told him we arrived."

"Brother," Al chastised. "You should have done that earlier!"

"Tch, I don't even want to talk to him. He'll be insulting me the moment I step into his damn office."

"Oh, shoo, brother. Shoo! Go; I'll look after sister while you report to the Colonel."

Al saw his brother roll his eyes before stepping forward and placing his forehead on their sister's, hearing him mutter a soft, 'welcome home,' to her. The younger Elric smiled as Ed left the room.

The suit of armor made sure not to cause too much noise as he settled down on the chair situated beside Julliana's bed. She looked a lit better now; color had returned to her face and her eyebrows wouldn't furrow anymore in pain.

To see Ed forgiving their sister, Al couldn't be any more happier. To be frank, he'd never been so happy ever since he got stuck in this metal body. "I can't describe my feeling in words, sister," he finally spoke after minutes of being silent.

"I wish I hugged you more before you left, and told you more how much I love you, sister. Brother and I don't know what happened after you left but know that when you tell us, we won't mind. We'll accept you with open arms. We're just glad to have you back."

A metal body like his was incapable of drawing out tears but Al's voice alone conveyed the sadness and happiness that hugged him so dearly. "Welcome home..." He parroted the words Ed had muttered earlier, now with a voice so firm and resolved.

**oooOooo**

Roy tapped his desk nonstop for the past half hour.

He hadn't heard from Fullmetal in a long while— and that, that has been keeping him on edge. If what he and Hawkeye hypothesized was on point, then they should be coming back with a certain woman in tow.

"Sir."

One word from Hawkeye had him stopping that annoying habit of his. "They'll come. Don't worry." Just as she said that, a certain someone kicked the door open; a familiar scowl on his face. Roy's eyes, instead of focusing on him, noticed the lack of a woman and a suit of armor following after Fullmetal.

It seemed like the blond noticed his intense look, stealing him of whatever comeback he had in mind. "Ah..." Edward awkwardly muttered with a scratch of his cheek. He knew, just from the Flame Alchemist's gaze alone, what the ravenet wanted to hear.

He didn't exactly know what his relationship was with his sister but the Colonel Bastard acted as if they were close or something. The silence made the blond gulp in nervousness. For some reason, instead of one pair of eyes burning holes into him, it was two.

So he finally relented and reported, "She's at the hospital."

Ed swore he was getting killed right there and then when he saw the dark look on the Lieutenant's and Colonel's face.


End file.
